OPKO Health Announces Research Grants from Mexican Technology and Science Council

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OPKO Health, Inc. (NYSE Amex: OPK) today announced the award of research grants in 2011 totaling more than US$1 million from the Mexican national technology and science council (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, CONACYT). The grants will be used by Exakta-OPKO, OPKO's wholly-owned Mexican subsidiary, to advance development of several research projects in ophthalmology, infectious disease, and oncology.

Phillip Frost, M.D., OPKO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We believe that these grants will help facilitate high caliber research projects and the development of important therapeutic and diagnostic products for Mexico and Latin America."

About OPKO Health, Inc.

We are a multi-national biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company that seeks to establish industry-leading positions in large and rapidly growing medical markets by leveraging our discovery, development and commercialization expertise and our novel and proprietary technologies. Our current focus is on conditions with major unmet medical needs including neurological disorders, infectious diseases, oncology and ophthalmologic diseases.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), which statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates," and other words of similar meaning, including statements regarding our product development efforts and the ability of OPKO and Exakta-OPKO to develop important therapeutic and diagnostic products for Mexico and Latin America, including products for ophthalmology, infectious disease and oncology, as well as other non-historical statements about our expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding our business, technologies and products, financial condition, strategies or prospects. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements. These factors include those described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as risks inherent in funding, developing and obtaining regulatory approvals of new, commercially-viable and competitive products and treatments. In addition, forward-looking statements may also be adversely affected by general market factors, competitive product development, product availability, federal and state regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise, patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We intend that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.

    Source: OPKO Health, Inc.

Released June 7, 2011