May 1, 2001

POLYDEX PHARMACEUTICALS LTD. REPORTS POSITIVE EARNINGS, 11TH YEAR OF INCREASED SALES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT UP 73%

TORONTO, Ontario, May 1, 2001 -- Polydex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ:POLXF) (BSE:PXL) today announced fiscal year-end total revenues of $13,646,158, an increase of 4.1% from $13,096,449 in the prior fiscal year and continuing a trend of eleven consecutive years of positive top-line growth. Net income was $131,284 in fiscal 2001 down from the $969,843 reported in fiscal 2000 primarily due to a significant increase in research and development expenses. Company President and CEO, George Usher, is pleased with the results of operations: "Our continued efforts to enhance productivity and reduce costs have allowed us to sustain operating margins while increasing expenditures in research and development, the key to our future growth and lasting value to our shareholders".

The Company's gross profit increased 1% or $23,783 to $3,647,296 in fiscal 2001 from $3,623,513 in fiscal 2000. "While fiscal 2001 was our fifth consecutive year of profitability at Polydex Pharmaceuticals, I believe that the year should be remembered for the steps taken in securing an increasingly profitable future. We're closer to moving Ushercell to new clinical trials, closer to marketing a new range of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, and closer to building that network of partnerships important to our continuing success" remarked George Usher.

Management's objectives for fiscal 2001 were accomplished as the Company forged ahead with focused research and development, continued refurbishment planning for the Toronto plant, filed two additional Abbreviated New Animal Drug Applications, and received a core patent on the potential female antimicrobial contraceptive product ("Ushercell").

Ushercell maintains the support of long-time partners such as the Contraceptive Research & Development Program (CONRAD), the Program for the Topical Prevention of Conception and Disease (TOPCAD) based at the Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and the University of Illinois in Chicago and CONRAD's Consortium for Industrial Collaboration in Contraceptive Research (CICCR).

The Company continues to research and develop various products for human and veterinary use. Additionally, partnership negotiations were undertaken in the development of a raw material for a human pharmaceutical product. Through licensees, Polydex also moved forward on a potential treatment for cystic fibrosis, with clinical trials scheduled to begin later this year. The exact date for the initiation of this Phase I trial is dependent on the approval of an IND.

Advancement of these R&D projects resulted in an increase of expenditures in fiscal 2001 of $469,166, a 73.62% increase over the previous year.

Note: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited. Actual events or results may differ materially from the Company's expectations, which are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including but not limited to changing market conditions, future actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory authorities as well as results of pending or future clinical trials. Other risk factors discussed in the Company's filings with the United States Securities

CONTACT: Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited
George G. Usher, President
(416) 755-2231
or e-mail: gu-dextran@rogers.com

Investor Relations:
Linda Hughes, Toll-free 1-877-945-1621
or e-mail: Linda@northarm.com