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Epitope, Inc.
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[LOGO]
Epitope, Inc.
8505 SW Creekside Place
Beaverton, Oregon 97008
(503) 641-6115
Fax (503) 643-2781
June 3, 1997
Dear Shareholder:
We recently sent you an update on matters that will be considered at the 1997
annual meeting of shareholders of Epitope, Inc., which has been adjourned from
its originally scheduled date. The annual meeting will be reconvened at 9 a.m.
on Tuesday, June 17, 1997, at the Greenwood Inn, 10700 Allen Boulevard,
Beaverton, Oregon.
Before the annual meeting is reconvened, we wanted to let you know about a
change in the Company's management. A press release describing the change
appears on the back of this letter.
We also want to advise you that we have successfully rescinded our acquisition
of Andrew and Williamson Sales, Co. (A&W), on the terms described in our last
letter to you.
A proxy card accompanied the materials previously sent to you. If you would like
another card in order to change your vote or would like another copy of any
proxy materials, please call Mary W. Hagen at (503) 641-6115, or write the
Investor Relations Department at Epitope, Inc., 8505 S.W. Creekside Place,
Beaverton, Oregon 97008.
We look forward to seeing you at the annual meeting.
Sincerely,
/s/ Roger L. Pringle
Roger L. Pringle
Chairman
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gus Allen
Mary Hagen
503.641.6115
EPITOPE ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT CHANGE
Beaverton, Oregon, June 3, 1997 -- Epitope, Inc. (NASDAQ:EPTO) today announced
that Adolph J. Ferro, Ph.D., will devote full time to his position as president
and chief executive officer of the company's Agritope group, effective
immediately. W. Charles Armstrong, a member of the board of directors, will
serve as interim president and chief executive officer of Epitope, Inc.
"Management and the board have been discussing strategies for accelerating
Agritope's development as a stand-alone enterprise," Dr. Ferro stated. "I look
forward to turning my full attention to guiding Agritope in its transition from
development-stage company to mature business."
Dr. Ferro was a co-founder of Agricultural Genetic Systems, Inc., which the
company acquired in 1987 and renamed Agritope, Inc. He is a co-inventor of
Agritope's patented ethylene-control technology. Agritope is developing
applications of the technology to control ripening in fruits and vegetables.
Roger Pringle, chairman of the board, praised Dr. Ferro's accomplishments. "Al
has done an outstanding job of keeping Epitope fully funded in the face of
regulatory delays and other hurdles that prevented it from relying on product
revenues. Now that our medical products are generating meaningful sales, we are
pleased that Al will devote his efforts to commercializing Agritope's genetic
technology, which he was instrumental in developing."
The company will immediately initiate a search for a new president and chief
executive officer of Epitope, Inc. Mr. Armstrong, who will succeed Dr. Ferro in
that capacity on an interim basis, has been a director of Epitope since 1989. He
is the former chief executive officer of Bank of America Oregon.
Mr. Pringle stated that the management change is part of a long-range plan to
allow the company's Epitope Medical Products and Agritope groups to operate
independently. The company's board of directors continues to consider a proposal
to issue a second, separate class of common stock that would track the
performance of Agritope. The board also plans to consider alternatives that
could involve a spin-off or other divestiture of Agritope.
Epitope, Inc. is a biotechnology company that develops and markets medical
diagnostic products through its Epitope Medical Products group. Its Agritope
group is focused on the development and commercialization of novel agricultural
products using plant genetic engineering and other modern methods.
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