Bionovo President & CMO Receives Women of the Year Award

EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bionovo, Inc. (OTC Link Platform: BNVI.PK) a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of safe and effective treatments for women's health and cancer, announced today that its President and Chief Medical Officer will be awarded as one of California's 14th Assembly District Women of the Year at an awards ceremony taking place on March 8, 2012.  Dr. Tagliaferri is being honored for her notable accomplishments in empowering women within the biotechnology and medical fields as well as serving as a role model and leader to women within the district.

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"It is such an honor to be recognized by Assemblymember Skinner as well as those who have nominated me for this award," said Dr. Tagliaferri.  "My close colleagues and I have devoted our careers and research efforts to discovering safe and effective drugs derived from botanical sources for the treatment of breast cancer and menopause.  At Bionovo, we are aiming to provide the 40 million women transitioning through menopause with a safer alternative to hormone therapy with the advancement of Menerba, our late stage development drug for the treatment of menopausal symptoms."

Dr. Tagliaferri is both an M.D., trained at the University of California, San Francisco and a licensed traditional Chinese medicine practitioner with a Master's degree in Oriental Medicine. As Co-founder, President and Chief Medical Officer of Bionovo, she is not only dedicated to bringing forward FDA approved botanical therapies, but she is also passionately dedicated to education and public awareness around women's health issues which are reflected in the two books she has authored; Breast Cancer: Beyond Convention (Atria Press: 2002) and The New Menopause Book (Avery Press: 2006).

Dr. Tagliaferri's collaborative research efforts with Dr. Isaac Cohen have led to significant medical discoveries that botanical drugs derived from traditional Chinese medicine not only appear to have statistically significant efficacy, but have mechanisms of action that yield safer therapies for symptoms associated with menopause. These groundbreaking advancements have the potential to revolutionize the field of women's health and provide a new drug development pathway for novel therapies derived from natural products.

"Dr. Tagliaferri's accomplishments are particularly important to the empowerment of women because the discoveries that she is leading will help forge the path for new treatments for menopause and breast cancer," said Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-14), host of the 2012 Women of the Year Empowerment Dinner. "It is wonderful to have the opportunity to recognize women, such as Dr. Tagliaferri, who dedicate their lives to serving women in our community and beyond."

About Bionovo, Inc.

Bionovo, Inc. 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 it has discovered new classes of drug candidates within its rich pipeline with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Bionovo is headquartered in Emeryville, California and its stock is traded on the OTC Link Platform under the symbol "BNVI.PK." 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.

SOURCE Bionovo, Inc.