FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  Contact: Maureen Haggarty
                                                                      Mary Hagen
                                                                    503.641.6115

               EPITOPE ADOPTS PLAN TO SPIN OFF AGRICULTURAL UNIT;
              RE-ACQUIRES MARKETING RIGHTS FROM SMITHKLINE BEECHAM

Beaverton, Oregon, July 28, 1997 -- Epitope, Inc. (NASDAQ: EPTO) announced today
that it will spin off its Agritope agricultural biotechnology unit.

The company also  announced that it will  re-acquire all rights from  SmithKline
Beecham  (SB) to its  patented  oral  fluid  diagnostics  technology,  currently
marketed by SB as the OraSure(R) oral specimen HIV-1 testing system.

AGRITOPE SPINOFF

The Agritope spinoff plan results from the Board's 1996 decision to make changes
in corporate  structure to allow investors and management to focus separately on
the agricultural and medical products business units of the company. In November
1996, the Board  proposed  creating  separate  classes of Epitope,  Inc.  common
stock.  After the Board  withdrew that proposal and asked  management to further
evaluate  alternatives,  management recommended a spinoff of Agritope. The board
of directors approved the recommendation at a special meeting on July 26, 1997.

"We believe that the spinoff is the best format to meet our strategic  objective
of building  shareholder  value by  providing  management  of each unit with the
ability to concentrate on developing a single business without  distraction from
the other unit.  It will also permit  investors to make  decisions  based on the
performance of each of our business  units," said Roger L. Pringle,  chairman of
the board of Epitope.  "As we announced in June,  Adolph J. Ferro,  Ph.D.,  will
serve as president and chief executive officer of Agritope."

The spinoff will be structured to allow Epitope  shareholders  to retain a stake
in the growth potential of Agritope, while providing a mechanism to separate the
businesses.  The spinoff plan contemplates  obtaining capital from investors and
strategic  partners  to support  Agritope's  operation  as a separate  business.
Completion of the spinoff is subject to reaching  agreement  with  investors and
receiving required regulatory approval.






RE-ACQUISITION OF MARKETING RIGHTS
The company will re-acquire  oral diagnostic  rights from SB as a result of SB's
decision  to   discontinue   the  pursuit  of  a  plan  to  develop  and  market
over-the-counter products for disease detection.  During a transition period, SB
will continue to market OraSure to the medical  community.  Thereafter,  OraSure
will be marketed through  distribution  channels  established by Epitope,  which
currently manufactures the product.

"SB has done an excellent job of developing  markets and brand  recognition  for
OraSure,"  said W. Charles  Armstrong,  interim  president  and chief  executive
officer of Epitope,  Inc. "The change will give us an  opportunity to capitalize
on these efforts by marketing  OraSure  directly or through other  partners.  We
feel that this decision will provide  Epitope with the  flexibility to focus our
sales  and  development  efforts  on  markets  with  the  most  immediate  sales
potential,  while  considering  a  variety  of  opportunities  arising  from the
re-acquisition of the oral technology."

According to Donna J. Sturgess,  director of diagnostic products for SB Consumer
Healthcare,  "OraSure  has been widely  accepted by public  health  departments,
major HIV testing sites and private  physicians around the country.  Despite our
change in  strategy,  we believe in the  importance  of the  technology.  We are
confident  that OraSure will continue to play an important role in the future of
HIV testing as it is a highly  effective  way to test for HIV  without  needles,
lancets or blood."

Epitope,  Inc. is a  biotechnology  company that  develops  and markets  medical
diagnostic  products  through its Epitope Medical  Products group.  Its Agritope
group is focused on the development and  commercialization of novel agricultural
products using plant genetic engineering and other modern methods.


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