EL DORADO HILLS, Calif., Oct 13, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The RiceX Company (RICX), a leading manufacturer of nutritious functional food ingredients and agriceuticals derived from rice bran, today announced its strategic market leadership program for penetrating target markets worldwide.

Following active discussions overseas, RiceX is now building strategic partnerships with major international food and their related pharmaceutical companies and financial institutions in key target markets worldwide. The company also has created a Global Advisory Council to assist in its international market expansion efforts.

The announcement follows RiceX's June hiring of CEO Terrence Barber, a Harvard MBA with over twenty years of senior executive experience in U.S. and global strategic market development. Mr. Barber has served as an international financier, market strategist, and senior U.S. diplomat, working with top public and private sector market leaders throughout Japan, Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

"We see significant opportunities internationally for our products and our proprietary technology," Mr. Barber said. "Our international marketing effort will help us lay the groundwork for partnerships with key food, agribusiness and pharmaceutical organizations worldwide and their respective governments."

Mr. Barber said the RiceX Global Advisory Council includes respected leaders in agribusiness, technology and medical sectors from throughout the world.

    Among those serving on the Council are:

    --  Neil Clendeninn, M.D., Ph.D., a leading medical oncologist who
        currently serves on the Board of Scientific Advisors for the
        National Cancer Institute and on the Board of OncoGenex
        Company in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Clendeninn is a former
        Executive Vice President and Head of Clinical Trials at
        Burroughs-Wellcome (U.S.) and the Head of Clinical Trials for
        Agouron (Pfizer), a top medical biotech enterprise. He brings
        experience in forging global alliances among pharmaceutical
        and biotech firms.

    --  Ray A. Goldberg, Moffett Professor Emeritus and co-founder of
        the Agribusiness Program at Harvard Business School. Dr.
        Goldberg sits on the boards of over 40 leading enterprises
        globally and is widely regarded as the world's foremost
        authority on the global agribusiness system.

    --  Claudia Ford of the University of the Witwatersrand, South
        Africa's premier university, spearheads strategic
        institutional collaborations in the arena of community
        development, maternal/child nutrition and the HIV/AIDS
        challenge, applying over 25 years of experience in economic
        and community development experience worldwide with top global
        philanthropies such as the Harpo Foundation, US and UN aid
        agencies, and multilateral financial institutions such as the
        World Bank. A graduate of Columbia University and Antioch
        College in biology and international health administration.

    --  Diem Le brings over 20 years of experience as an international
        technology market development executive and venture capitalist
        in Silicon Valley, Boston, and Asia, particularly China. In
        China, he recently founded and capitalized a major enterprise
        software company. As a Harvard MBA, graduating from Harvard
        College with honors in Engineering and Applied Sciences, Diem
        Le began his career as an executive with blue-chip technology
        and venture companies including Hewlett Packard and IBM.

    --  Gerard Acogny is an agribusiness policy advisor to heads of
        state, development finance institutions and business leaders
        throughout Africa and the Caribbean. He recently served as
        Vice Chair for Africa for the World Agricultural Forum (WAF)
        in St. Louis, Missouri. He spearheaded the WAF's institutional
        collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture
        Organization (UNFAO), working closely with the UNFAO Director
        General and the current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,
        former Chairman of the WAF Advisory Board.

"We are honored to have the assistance of these outstanding individuals as RiceX seeks to expand markets for its products," Mr. Barber said. "The company was founded on the premise that stabilized rice bran will help solve world hunger and nutrition problems. We look forward to working with them to take steps to make that a reality."

About The RiceX Company

RiceX manufactures highly nutritious premium functional food ingredients derived from rice bran. RiceX is the exclusive owner of the patents for hypercholesterolemia and diabetes applications for stabilized rice bran. RiceX supplies a network of companies now creating new products in the nexus of food and health utilizing RiceX stabilized rice bran. Using proprietary technology, RiceX stabilizes rice bran while preserving its all-natural nutrients, enabling the company to offer some of the most nutritious functional food ingredients on the market today. RiceX is unique in its capacity to produce rice bran products of the quality, shelf life and nutritional profile required by leading commercial users. A public company, RiceX is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "RICX". More information about the company can be found on the Internet at www.ricex.com.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This RiceX Company press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and other expressions of management's belief or opinion which reflect its current understanding or belief with respect to such matters. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including known and unknown factors as included in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those projected. All of these forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by management of the company, which although believed to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict; therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon such statements. There can be no assurance that the company will not incur new or additional unforeseen costs in connection with the ongoing conduct of its business. Accordingly, any forward-looking statements included herein do not purport to be predictions of future events or circumstances and may not be realized. Except as specifically set forth herein, the company undertakes no obligation to update any such forward-looking or other statement.