Response Biomedical Completes Initial Closing of an expected $5.0 Million...( VANCOUVER Oct. 28 / Response Biom...),Health

VANCOUVER, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Response Biomedical Corporation (TSX: RBM, OTCBB: RPBIF) (the "Company") today announced that it has completed an initial closing of the financing announced on October 14, 2008 and amended on October 17, 2008, raising gross proceeds of $4.66 million. The closing involved a brokered and non-brokered private placement of 31,084,435 units at a price of $0.15 for each unit. Each unit consisted of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each full warrant is exercisable for one common share at a price of $0.20 per share. The warrants may be exercised for a period of 36 months from the closing date. Subject to delivery of necessary funds and documents, a further non-brokered financing of approximately $340,000 is expected to close within the next few days on the same terms, bringing the gross proceeds raised by that time to $5.0 million.

The common shares issued under the initial closing will have a hold period under Canadian law until March 1, 2009. The hold period for the additional common shares issued in the subsequent closing, if any, will be four months from the date of the closing.

Net proceeds of this offering will be used for working capital purposes, in particular toward the launch of the Flu A+B test sold by 3M Medical and the cardiovascular test line to be marketed by Roche Diagnostics.

"This financing, coupled with the commitments of our partners puts us in a much stronger position to take advantage of opportunities in the diagnostic market, as our partners prepare to market our two key product candidates, Flu A+B Test, which 3M has commenced selling this month, and NT-proBNP Test expected to be launched by Roche Diagnostics in the first quarter of 2009," said S. Wayne Kay, CEO. "We are also continuing to explore new opportunities with potential partners interested in funding further development applications in clinical areas not covered by our current partnersh
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