BUFFALO, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 05/21/09 -- Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI) today announced that it has signed a term sheet with Bioprocess Capital Ventures, a Russian venture capital fund, to enter into a Russia-based joint venture to develop the Company's Curaxin compounds for cancer applications.

According to the terms of the initial agreement, CBLI would transfer rights to its pipeline of Curaxin anticancer molecules to the new joint venture, and Bioprocess Capital Ventures would contribute approximately $15 million over three payments to support development of the compounds. The first payment would be due upon signing of the final agreement and the ensuing payments would be based upon achievement of predetermined development milestones. CBLI would own 50%+1 of the joint venture and Bioprocess Capital Ventures would own 50%-1 of the joint venture. The term sheet is not binding and conclusion of the deal is subject to completion of a final approval process by the investment committee of the Russian fund.

Michael Fonstein, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Cleveland BioLabs, stated, "We believe this opportunity establishes a fair initial valuation for our Curaxin compounds and would enable us to bring our lead next generation Curaxin compound, CBLC137 into human trials."

Vladimir Tezov, General Director of Bioprocess Capital Partners, manager of Bioprocess Capital Ventures, commented, "This joint venture with CBLI represents a unique and promising opportunity to bring novel anticancer compounds into the Russian Federation and develop them for both the Russian and world markets."

About Bioprocess Capital Ventures

Bioprocess Capital Ventures is a Russian venture capital fund managed by the limited liability company, Bioprocess Capital Partners. The total size of the fund is 3 billion rubles (approximately $90 million). Investors in the fund include government corporations such as Russian Venture Company and VneshEconomBank (VEB), the Bioprocess group of companies, and other institutional and private investors. The fund focuses on investments in innovative technologies in the life sciences/biotechnology and fine chemistry sectors.

About Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.

Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. is a drug discovery and development company leveraging its proprietary discoveries around programmed cell death to develop treatments for cancer and protection of normal tissues from exposure to radiation and other stresses. The Company has strategic partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, ChemBridge Corporation and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. To learn more about Cleveland BioLabs, Inc., please visit the company's website at http://www.cbiolabs.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Some of the factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the "Risk Factors" described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2009.