Press Release

zuChem Recipient of Tri-County Venture Capital Fund's First Investment

Newly Established Fund to Invest $200,000 in Local Commercialization Venture

Peoria, IL (July 20, 2004) - The newly established "Tri-County Venture Capital Fund" announced today the fund's investment of $200,000 in local technology commercialization venture, zuChem, Inc. zuChem is an innovative supplier of glycochemicals and other specialized sugars for the pharmaceutical, food, nutraceutical, and related industries.

The $2 million Tri-County Venture Capital Fund is designed to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and equity in the Central Illinois region. The Fund is a subsidiary of the Heartland Capital Network, a consortium of financing programs designed to meet the capital needs of business ventures in the Greater Peoria Region.

"This investment represents our confidence in zuChem and the technologies the company is developing," says Doug Stewart, Spokesperson, Tri-County Venture Capital Fund. "zuChem is exactly the type of venture that the Fund has been designed to invest in, and the company's growth in the Central Illinois region is just the type of growth we are working to promote here."

"Since our inception in 2001, the Peoria community has been a strong component to our growth and development," said David Demirjian, president of zuChem. "We are very appreciative of all the support we have received and look forward to creating additional employment and economic opportunities here in Peoria."

This investment follows zuChem's recent announcement of having raised over $500,000 in a second close of its Series A financing including participants such as ARCH Development Partners, the Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation (BRDC), and other private investors including angel investors from Peoria, Illinois.

zuChem's initial products, being developed in its Peoria research facilities, are reduced-caloric sweeteners for the food industry. Headquartered in Chicago, zuChem uses proprietary biotechnology manufacturing technologies to create fine sugar-like chemicals (glycochemicals) more efficiently and economically. The company is also developing novel pharmaceutical building blocks and expects to begin initial product sales in the fourth quarter of 2004.

The Heartland Capital Network is a collection of programs geared to meet the financing needs of business ventures in the Illinois Heartland. The Tri-County Venture Capital Fund is a subsidiary of the Heartland Capital Network designed to meet the venture capital needs of the Illinois Heartland.

For more information please go to www.zuChem.com.

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