Northfield Laboratories Inc. Announces Annual Meeting Date; Outlines Proposals Requiring Shareholder Approval

Northfield Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLD) announced today that its annual meeting of shareholders will be held on Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time, at The Deer Path Inn, 255 East Illinois Road, Lake Forest, Illinois. The meeting will be webcast, with details to be announced later. At the meeting, Northfield will ask shareholders to vote on four proposals, including the election of seven directors and the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as independent auditors of the Company. In addition, the Company will seek approval of a proposal to allow the Board of Directors to implement a reverse stock split if and when the Board deems such action appropriate. The Company will also seek shareholder approval for a proposal to increase the number of shares available for grant under the Company’s 2003 Equity Compensation Plan. Approval for the Board to effect a possible reverse split, within a range of between three and seven pre-split shares for each post-split share, is being sought should it become necessary in order to maintain compliance with the minimum $1.00 share requirement for continued inclusion on the Nasdaq Global Market under Marketplace Rule 4450(a)(5). Northfield has filed a preliminary Proxy Statement with the SEC relating to the proposals to be considered at the annual meeting; this document is available on the Company’s website at www.northfieldlabs.com. Northfield intends to file its Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC on August 14, 2008. About Northfield Laboratories and PolyHeme® Northfield Laboratories Inc. is a leader in developing an oxygen-carrying red blood cell substitute for the treatment of life-threatening hemoglobin levels, when an oxygen-carrying fluid is required and red blood cells are not available. Northfield's product, PolyHeme(R), is under clinical investigation as an oxygen-carrying red blood cell substitute. It is a solution of chemically modified human hemoglobin that requires no cross matching and is therefore compatible with all blood types. PolyHeme® has a shelf life in excess of 12 months. For further information, visit http://www.northfieldlabs.com. Forward Looking Statement This press release may contain forward-looking statements concerning, among other things, Northfield's future business plans and strategies and clinical and regulatory developments affecting our PolyHeme red blood cell substitute product. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of such terms as "intends," "expects," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," "should," "believes" and similar terms. These forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may therefore differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements because of various factors and possible events, including our potential inability to regain compliance with applicable Nasdaq listing standards, the possibility that since the full data from our Phase III clinical trial have not been submitted to, or reviewed by, FDA, they may not be sufficient to demonstrate the safety or effectiveness of PolyHeme, our ability to successfully file a Biologics License Application, our ability to be granted priority review of our Biologics License Application, our ability to obtain FDA approval to market PolyHeme commercially, our need to obtain additional capital to finance our ongoing business operations and the construction of an expanded commercial-scale manufacturing facility, our ability to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials and to manufacture PolyHeme in commercial quantities, our ability to market PolyHeme successfully, the possibility that competitors will develop products that will render PolyHeme obsolete or non-competitive, our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, the outcome of a purported class action lawsuit as described in our most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, the possibility that we may be subject to product liability claims and other legal actions, our dependency on a limited number of key personnel, the uncertainty of third party reimbursement for our product and other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K and annual report on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We do not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the time such statement is made. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Northfield or any person acting on our behalf are qualified by this cautionary statement.