DowpharmaSM Signs Fourth Collaboration Agreement In First Quarter of 2006 for Pfēnex Expression Technology™
Dowpharma and Insmed Inc. Sign Research and Development Agreement

Midland, MI - April 10, 2006

DowpharmaSM contract manufacturing services, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), today announced it has signed its fourth collaboration agreement in the first quarter of 2006 for its Pfnex Expression Technology™, a Pseudomonas-based technology. Pfnex Expression Technology accelerates speed to market for vaccines and biotherapeutics by improving quality, boosting yields of protein expression, and reducing the cost of existing microbial systems. Dowpharma's fourth and most recent agreement was signed with Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) to advance the development of Insmed's IPLEX . Under the terms of the agreement, Dowpharma will express two proprietary Insmed proteins that are administered as a single complex, known as IPLEX, using Pfnex Expression Technology™.

"With our recent collaborations with VGX Pharmaceuticals, Viventia Biotech and now Insmed, we are experiencing tremendous growth and adoption of our Pfnex Expression Technology," said Nick Hyde, global business director, Dowpharma. "It is currently successfully being used to manufacture cGMP material that will be used in clinical trials and now we will express currently FDA approved proteins. Pfnex Expression Technology consistently outperforms other microbial expression systems and we look forward to working with Insmed in their drug development program."

Dowpharma has an unmatched record in developing high-productivity strains for the manufacture of numerous protein products for both clinical and industrial applications. Pfnex Expression Technology is built around specially modified strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria that increase cellular expression of recombinant proteins and peptides while maintaining critical solubility and activity characteristics. Pfnex Expression Technology consistently outperforms other microbial systems, often with yields five to ten times greater than the next best expression alternative.

About Insmed Incorporated
Insmed Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drug products for the treatment of metabolic diseases and endocrine disorders with unmet medical needs. For further information about Insmed and IPLEX(TM) (mecasermin rinfabate (rDNA origin) injection), our FDA-approved drug for the treatment of growth failure in children with severe primary IGF-1 deficiency or with growth hormone deletion who have developed neutralizing antibodies to growth hormone, please visit the Insmed's corporate website at www.insmed.com.

About Dowpharma
DowpharmaSM serves the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries with innovative technologies, products, and services in drug discovery, development, delivery and manufacturing. Dowpharma has one of the broadest and deepest capabilities in the global outsourcing industry with services that include process development, route selection, methods development, custom solubilization, chiral capabilities, and associated analytical services, as well as manufacturing and scale-up from feasibility, through clinical trials, to commercial manufacturing.

Dowpharma manufactures small molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, nucleic acid medicines, cGMP polymers, peptides and therapeutic proteins from microbial fermentation and plant-based systems. Dowpharma draws upon over 30 years of excellent cGMP regulatory compliance in the organic synthesis of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates with the ability to provide client support in filing and validation strategies. Dowpharma operates research, process development, and manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe. More information is available at www.dowpharma.com.

About Dow
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.


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Kathy W. Sweeney
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