Bionovo Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bionovo, Inc. announced that it has filed a preliminary prospectus supplement to an existing shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed public offering of 11,400,000 shares of its common stock. The offering price will be determined by market conditions at the time of pricing in consultation with the underwriters of the offering. In connection with the offering, Bionovo expects to grant its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,710,000 shares at the public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any.

BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Canaccord Adams Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering, with Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. acting as a co-manager.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained from: BMO Capital Markets Corp., Attn: Prospectus Delivery Department, 3 Times Square, New York, New York 10036; Telephone: [phone].

Bionovo, Inc.

Bionovo is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of safe and effective treatments for women's health and cancer, markets with significant unmet needs and billions in potential annual revenue. The company applies its expertise in the biology of menopause and cancer to design new drugs derived from botanical sources which have novel mechanisms of action. Based on the results of early and mid-stage clinical trials, Bionovo believes they have discovered new classes of drug candidates within their rich pipeline with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Bionovo is headquartered in Emeryville, California and is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol, "BNVI". For more information about Bionovo and its programs, visit http://www.bionovo.com/.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Bionovo, Inc. that can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties relating to product development, efficacy and safety, regulatory actions or delays, the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection, market acceptance, physician acceptance, third party reimbursement, future capital requirements, competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at http://www.sec.gov/. Bionovo, Inc. is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Company Contacts: Bionovo, Inc. Tom Chesterman, SVP & CFO Tel: [phone] Katherina Audley Tel: [phone]