Prana Biotechnology Co-Founding Scientist Receives Grand Hamdan International Award for Medical Sciences - Professor Colin Masters Honored for His Work in the Field of Molecular and Cellular Pathology of Neurological Dis

Biotechnology Co-Founding Scientist Receives Grand Hamdan

Award for Medical Sciences

Colin Masters Honored for His Work in the

of Molecular and Cellular Pathology of Neurological Disorders

Australia - December 19, 2006 - Professor

Colin Masters, M.D., Ph.D., co-founding scientist of Prana

Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN, ASX: PBT),

received the Grand Hamdan International Award for Medical Sciences yesterday

evening at a special ceremony prior to the commencement of the Fourth Dubai

International Conference for Medical Sciences. The Award honors individuals

whose contributions to healthcare delivery have left an indelible mark by their

quality, originality and impact on the delivery of health care.

Hamdan International Award is unique in that it not only awards quality but

dedication to the alleviation of the sufferings of humanity though research

exemplary service. The major deciding factor for this year's award was a

research breakthrough in the subject of Molecular and Cellular Pathology of

Neurological Disorders.

Masters is a true pioneer in the field of Alzheimer's Disease and his

played a central role in shaping the research direction of the field," remarked

Geoffrey Kempler, Chief Executive Officer of Prana Biotechnology. "For more than

30 years, he has dedicated his research to the study of the nature of

Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders, and his work has greatly

enhanced the scientific community's knowledge and understanding of this

debilitating disease. Prana salutes Colin for his many achievements; he is

deserving of the recognition."

Professor Masters was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Alzheimer's

Disease Research at the 10th

International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in Madrid. In October, he

received the Lennox K. Black International Prize for Excellence in Biomedical

Research, which is awarded biennially in recognition of the impact, either

accomplished or potential, of pioneering biomedical research on the alleviation

of human disease and suffering. Just recently it was announced that Professor

Masters was named the new Executive Director of the Mental Health Research

Institute of Victoria, Australia, a position he will assume effective January

Masters and his team are internationally renowned for their study of Alzheimer's

disease, and he is considered the most eminent neuroscientist in Australia.

addition, he is regarded as one of the leading worldwide researchers in the

study of Alzheimer's disease. Professor Masters' current research studies on

Alzheimer's disease are focused on identifying compounds, such as PBT2 (Prana's

lead compound), that can inhibit the production or aggregation of amyloid in

Alzheimer's diseased brain. Prana commenced a Phase IIa clinical trial of PBT2

earlier this month and is expected to commence dosing the first patient

Professor Colin Masters

Masters started his research on the diseases of the brain as a medical student

in Perth in 1966. The evaluation of amyloid deposition in other transmissible

diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, led Professor Masters in 1978

commence his study of the nature of the amyloid deposits in Alzheimer's disease.

In collaboration with Konrad Beyreuther (then at the Institute of Genetics,

Cologne, and now the University of Heidelberg) in 1984, the N-terminal sequence

of Alzheimer plaque amyloid was obtained. The collaboration has continued to

present and resulted in numerous achievements.

Masters' current studies on Alzheimer's disease are now focused on identifying

the pathways through which environmental and genetic factors can operate to

cause the disease. In collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry and

biotechnology enterprises, Professor Masters' multidisciplinary approach is now

directed at identifying lead compounds, such as PBT2 (Prana's lead compound),

that can inhibit the production or aggregation of amyloid in the Alzheimer's

disease brain. At the 10th

International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) earlier this year,

Professor Ashley Bush, who works with Professor Masters, presented data

demonstrating that in mouse models1

accomplishments are many: He has been awarded memberships in numerous academic,

regional, national and international medical associations and societies had

held leadership positions in many of these groups. He has served as Chair of

Management Advisory Board and Member of the Executive Committee of the Centre

for Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, the

University of Melbourne; and is currently serving as Chairperson of the

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry Advisory Group, Commonwealth Department

Health and Aging (Australia). Professor Masters also has received numerous

awards for his research into Alzheimer's and other related diseases. These

include: the Potamkin Prize (1990); the Alois Alzheimer Award by the University

of Munich (1997); the Lifetime Achievement Award in Alzheimer's Disease

Research, presented at ICAD in Madrid, Spain (July 2006); and the Lennox K.

Black International Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Research, presented

Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia (October 2006).

Prana Biotechnology Limited

Biotechnology was established to commercialise research into Alzheimer's disease

and other major age-related neuro-degenerative disorders. The company was

incorporated in 1997 and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in March 2000

and listed on NASDAQ in September 2002. Researchers at prominent international

institutions including the University of Melbourne and Massachusetts General

Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, discovered Prana's

further information, please visit our web site at www.pranabio.com.

sample sizes studied in the test conducted by Professor Bush and his colleagues

Water maze study: n=7 (dosed) and 7 (vehicle)

in 15month old Tg mice at 30mg/kg: n=7 (treated) and 8 (vehicle)

experiment: n=8 (in each of 4 conditions)

to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant

duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto

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