Vancouver,  British  Columbia  - October 23,  2002  Forbes  Medi-Tech Inc. (TSE:FMI and NASDAQ:FMTI) today  announced several changes in the Company's operations and management structure.

"In  today's  financial environment, it is important for us to retain cash and optimize our  human  resources  while  remaining  focused  on our  key objectives   in   both   our   sterol  commercialization  initiatives and pharmaceutical development program" said Charles Butt, President and CEO.

Under the re-structuring, Forbes has moved all of its research programs out of its laboratory facility and will  now outsource its research to selected universities  and  contract  research organizations.  This will not impact current clinical and regulatory development of FM-VP4 and  the VPx  library of  compounds.  "This  move  is  advantageous from  both  a  financial and scientific  perspective,  as we  can further  reduce  our  burnrate  while enhancing our relationship with some of  the key  academic  centers in both North America and internationally" said Butt.

The  re-structuring  has  enabled  Forbes  to reduce  its  total headcount (excluding  the Joint Venture) from 35 to 17, with an annualized savings of Cdn$854,000.

New appointments within the senior management group are as follows:

Dr. Tanya Lukic is promoted to Vice-President, Scientific Affairs from her current  position  of Director,  Scientific Affairs.  Since joining Forbes Medi-Tech, Dr. Tanya Lukic has  managed several drug discovery projects and is the  project  leader for the  preclinical  and  clinical development  of Forbes'  novel lipid-lowering  agent, FM-VP4. Her new position will  be to take over the day-to-day running of the Pharmaceutical Development program. Prior  to  joining  Forbes,  Dr. Lukic  was  a  research assistant in  the Department  of Biochemistry, Faculty  of  Medicine,  at  the  University of British Columbia. She also worked as a staff physician  at the Allergy  and Immunology Clinic, University of Belgrade, specializing  in the management of acquired immunology deficiency syndromes. Dr. Lukic holds an M.D. degree and a Masters of Science in  Immunology from  the University of Belgrade in Yugoslavia.

Haydn Pritchard  will  continue  to  work with  the Company on a part-time consulting basis, consequent  upon his return to a full-time professorship position at the University of British Columbia  after a two-year leave  of absence.  Dr.  Pritchard will continue to  be involved with the  Company's clinical and laboratory based pre-clinical work.

Laura  Wessman is promoted to the newly created position of Vice-President, Business Development. Ms.  Wessman joined Forbes Medi-Tech in December 2000 and  has  been  involved  in  both  the nutraceutical  and  pharmaceutical divisions of  the  Company,  most recently  captaining the  upscaling  and commercial profiling of its pharmaceutical steroidal technology. In her new role  she  is responsible  for  chartering the  Company's  growth  through in-house development  as  well as licensing and acquisitions;  she is  also responsible for managing  the Company's  manufacturing  activities  at the Phyto-Source Joint Venture  in Houston Texas.  Prior to joining Forbes, Ms. Wessman  held  positions  of  increasing  responsibility  at North  Aegean Petroleum  and  Cominco  in  the areas of process engineering  and  project management. Ms Wessman  holds undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry  from  the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC.

Both Dr. Lukic and Ms. Wessman will report to the President and CEO.

Patricia Pracher, Director of Financial Services  is  promoted to Corporate Controller.  Ms.  Pracher  is a Certified  Management Accountant  with  the Society of Management Accountants of British Columbia and holds  a business degree from York University  in Toronto, Ontario. Ms.  Pracher's experience includes  ten  years  at  a controllership  level  in  various  industries including   precious  metals   mining,   agriculture,   retail   sales and international marketing for operations in Canada and the United States. Ms. Pracher will continue to report to the Senior Vice-President & CFO.

Other senior  management  positions including Senior  Vice-President & CFO, VP, Regulatory Affairs, VP, Functional Foods  and  VP Commercial Operations remain unchanged.

One final note is  that Forbes has been provided an additional 180  days or until April 14, 2003 from the NASDAQ Stock Market to regain compliance with NASDAQ'S  US $1.00  minimum per share bid  price requirement for  continued inclusion on the SmallCap Market.

About Forbes Medi-Tech Inc.

Forbes  Medi-Tech Inc. is  a  biopharmaceutical company  dedicated  to the research, development and commercialization  of innovative pharmaceuticals and   nutraceutical  products  for  the   prevention   and   treatment of cardiovascular and related diseases. By extracting plant sterols  from wood pulping by-products, Forbes has developed cholesterol-lowering agents to be used  as pharmaceutical  therapeutics, dietary  supplements and functional food ingredients.

For more information, please contact:
Darren  Seed Manager,  Investor  Relations
Telephone:  (604) 681-8976
E-mail: mailto:dseed@forbesmedi.com

NASDAQ and the  Toronto Stock Exchange have not  reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy  or accuracy of the  content  of this News Release. This  press  release  contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning  of Section  27A of  the U.S. Securities Act and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which statements  can  be identified  by  the use  of forward-looking  terminology, such as, "will", "to",  "can"  or comparable terminology  referring  to  future  events  or results. The Company's  actual results could differ  materially from  those anticipated in these forward-looking  statements  as  a result  of numerous factors, including without limitation,  the  need to control costs  and the possibility  of  unanticipated expenses, and the need for universities and contract research organizations  to  provide services to the Company, which may not be  available  on acceptable  terms or at all.    See the Company's reports  filed  with  the Toronto Stock  EExchange,  the  B.C.  and Ontario Securities Commissions, and  the U.S.  Securities and  Exchange Commission from  time to time  for  cautionary  statements identifying other important factors with respect to  such forward-looking statements, including certain risks  and  uncertainties,  that  could cause  actual  results  to  differ materially  from results  referred to in  forward-looking  statements.  The Company assumes  no  obligation to update the information contained in this press release.