Intercytex Group plc
06 October 2006

Intercytex awarded £1.85m grant from the DTI to automate production of
innovative hair regeneration therapy



Cambridge, UK, 6th October 2006 - Intercytex (LSE: ICX) and its partner, The
Automation Partnership (TAP), announce today that they have been awarded a £1.85
million grant by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the
Technology Programme to develop an automated manufacturing process for ICX-TRC,
Intercytex' novel hair regeneration therapy. Intercytex is a leading cell
therapy company developing products to restore and regenerate skin and hair and
The Automation Partnership is a private company specialising in the automation
of life science processes.

The grant will be used primarily to develop a dedicated robotic system to
support the commercial-scale production of dermal papilla (DP) cells, the main
cells involved in hair regeneration and the key component of ICX-TRC.

The Intercytex approach to hair regeneration centres on extracting an
individual's DP cells from a small hair follicle biopsy at the back of the head,
multiplying the cells in a proprietary aseptic culture system and then
re-implanting the cells back in the head to induce new hairs. It is vital that
each patient's cells remain isolated throughout the multiplication process.

The robotic system developed by TAP has an established track record in
processing many different cell samples simultaneously in the context of high
throughput drug screening, where TAP systems are employed by many of the world's
top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The DTI grant will be used to
adapt this proven technology to produce autologous (i.e. sourced from and
returned to the same individual) human cells in a reliable, efficient way and at
a scale that can handle a large number of people.

Nick Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Intercytex said: 'We are delighted that
the DTI has granted us this substantial funding. The large-scale production of
ICX-TRC will be key to its commercial success and this collaboration will
support our scale-up work. ICX-TRC is currently in Phase II clinical testing
and this project should ensure we are in a position to produce cells to treat
large numbers of people, both in our later stage clinical trials and when
ICX-TRC is launched.'

Welcoming the new partnership, Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Sainsbury
said: 'This initiative provides a real opportunity to harness the world class
expertise that we possess in the UK and direct it towards the task of wealth
creation. Biotechnology is of crucial importance in our society. By providing a
focus for collaboration and delivery, this partnership should establish British
industry as the world leader in this area and an attractive proposition for
investors.'

Intercytex and TAP have been awarded £1.85 million out of a total £12.6 million
grant funding available from DTI and the Research Councils for collaboration in
Regenerative Medicine Technologies as part of the Technology Programme's Autumn
2005 Competition for Funding. This competition invited proposals for innovative
collaborative projects developing technology for regenerative medicine
applications involving both science and business.

Dr Andy Morffew, Chief Executive of The Automation Partnership, added: 'We are
delighted to be working with Intercytex - doing what TAP does best - automating
complex biological processes and simplifying a critical step in the ICX-TRC
treatment procedure.'



Enquiries:


Intercytex
Nick Higgins, Chief Executive Officer: +44 (0) 161 904 4500
www.intercytex.com