CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals to Present at the Needham & Company Second Annual Biotechnology Conference

    May 22, 2003
    Presentation slated for June 5, 2003.

    CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the Company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, Brian M. Gallagher, PhD, will present at the Needham & Company Second Annual Biotechnology Conference.

    The presentation is scheduled for 4:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time on June 5, 2003 at The New York Palace Hotel in New York City. The presentation will be available as a live audio webcast on the company's website at www.collagenex.com or at
    http://www.twst.com/econf/mm/needham5/cgpi.html, and will be available approximately 1 hour after the actual presentation until July 3, 2003 at the aforementioned URLs.

    CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical
    company currently focused on providing innovative medical therapies to the dental and dermatology markets. Currently, the Company's 115-person professional dental pharmaceutical sales force markets Periostat(R), which is indicated as an adjunct to scaling and root planing for the treatment of adult periodontitis.

    Periostat is the first and only pharmaceutical to treat adult
    periodontitis by inhibiting the enzymes that destroy periodontal
    support tissues, and by enhancing bone protein synthesis.

    The sales force also promotes Vioxx(R), a Merck & Co. drug that
    CollaGenex co-promotes for the treatment of acute dental pain;
    Denavir(R), a Novartis Group prescription anti-viral medication for
    the treatment of cold sores; Pandel, a prescription, topical
    corticosteroid licensed from Altana, Inc.; Sirius Laboratories'
    AVAR(TM) product line for the topical control of acne vulgaris,
    rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis; and Atridox(R), Atrisorb(R)
    FreeFlow(TM) and Atrisorb-D(R) FreeFlow(TM), Atrix Laboratories Inc.'s products for the treatment of adult periodontitis.

    Research has shown that certain unique properties of the
    tetracyclines discovered during the development of Periostat may be applicable to other diseases involving inflammation and/or destruction of the body's connective tissues, including acne, rosacea, meibomianitis and cancer metastasis, among others.

    CollaGenex is further evaluating Periostat, as well as the new
    IMPACS(R) (Inhibitors of Multiple Proteases and Cytokines) compounds, to assess whether they are safe and effective in these and other applications.

    In addition, CollaGenex has licensed the Restoraderm(TM)
    technology, a unique, proprietary dermal drug delivery system, in
    order to develop a range of topical dermatological products with
    enhanced pharmacologic and cosmetic properties.