EpiCept Announces Commercial Launch of Ceplene® in the United Kingdom

EpiCept Announces Commercial Launch of Ceplene® in the United Kingdom 

TARRYTOWN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EpiCept Corporation (Nasdaq and Nasdaq OMX
Stockholm Exchange: EPCT) today announced that the commercial launch of Ceplene®
(histamine dihydrochloride) will take place in the United Kingdom on April 20,
2010 in conjunction with the British Society for Haematology 50th Annual
Scientific Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. Ceplene is approved in the European
Union for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse in patients with
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission. The launch is being conducted
by Meda AB, (OMX Nordic Exchange: MEDA-A-ST) as part of an exclusive
commercialization agreement for Ceplene signed by the two companies in January
2010. Meda is a leading international specialty pharmaceutical company with
products sold in 120 countries worldwide and a marketing organization of about
1,200 people throughout Europe. 

“We are very pleased that Ceplene will soon be readily available to clinicians
in the U.K. and that patients will be able to reap the benefits of the only
immunomodulator proven to show a clear benefit in prolonging leukemia-free
survival and preventing relapse in AML patients,” said Jack Talley, president
and chief executive officer of EpiCept. “We look forward to working closely with
Meda for the drug's next expected launch in Germany, and ultimately throughout
Europe.” 

In support of the commercial launch for Ceplene, Meda will be holding a
Satellite Symposium session on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at the aforementioned
scientific meeting. The session, entitled “Maintaining Remission in AML - The
Challenge,” will be co-chaired by Dr. Alan K. Burnett and Dr. Jonathen Kell. Dr.
Burnett is a Professor in the Department of Haemotology in the School of
Medicine at Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales and chairman of the
collaborative group of the Medical Research Council in the U.K. Dr. Kell is a
professor at Cardiff University's School of Medicine, Department of Haemotology.
Meda is expected to begin shipping Ceplene to clinicians at the end of April. 

About Ceplene 

Ceplene is indicated for remission maintenance therapy and prevention of relapse
in adult patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Ceplene is used together
with low dose Interleukin-2. AML is one of four major types of leukemia.
Approximately 16,000 new cases of AML are diagnosed in Europe every year. While
current induction and consolidation treatments are successful in inducing
complete remission for the majority of AML patients, this remission is generally
short-lived. After achieving complete remission most patients will suffer a
relapse within one year. In an international, multicenter, open-label,
randomized phase III study, Ceplene met its primary endpoint of prolonging
leukemia-free survival for AML patients in remission. The difference between the
treated and control group was statistically significant (p<0.008). 

About EpiCept Corporation 

EpiCept is focused on the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical
products for the treatment of cancer and pain. The Company's lead product is
Ceplene®, which has been granted full marketing authorization by the European
Commission for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse in adult
patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission. The Company has
two oncology drug candidates currently in clinical development that were
discovered using in-house technology and have been shown to act as vascular
disruption agents in a variety of solid tumors. The Company's pain portfolio
includes EpiCept™ NP-1, a prescription topical analgesic cream in late-stage
clinical development designed to provide effective long-term relief of pain
associated with peripheral neuropathies. 

Forward-Looking Statements 

This news release and any oral statements made with respect to the information
contained in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements include statements which express plans, anticipation,
intent, contingency, goals, targets, future development and are otherwise not
statements of historical fact. These statements are based on our current
expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results or developments to be materially different from historical results or
from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Factors that may cause actual results or developments to differ materially
include: the risk that Ceplene® will not receive regulatory approval or
marketing authorization in the United States or Canada, the risk that Ceplene®
will not be launched or achieve significant commercial success, the risk that
any required post-approval clinical study for Ceplene® will not be successful,
the risk that we will not be able to maintain our final regulatory approval or
marketing authorization for Ceplene®, the risks associated with the adequacy of
our existing cash resources and our ability to continue as a going concern, the
risks associated with our ability to continue to meet our obligations under our
existing debt agreements, the risk that Azixa™ will not receive regulatory
approval or achieve significant commercial success, the risk that we will not
receive any significant payments under our agreement with Myriad, the risk that
the development of our other apoptosis product candidates will not be
successful, the risk that we will not be able to find a buyer for our ASAP
technology, the risk that clinical trials for EpiCeptTM NP-1 or crolibulin™ will
not be successful, the risk that EpiCept NP-1 or crolibulin™ will not receive
regulatory approval or achieve significant commercial success, the risk that we
will not be able to find a partner to help conduct the Phase III trials for
EpiCept NP-1 on attractive terms, a timely basis or at all, the risk that our
other product candidates that appeared promising in early research and clinical
trials do not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in larger-scale or later stage
clinical trials, the risk that we will not obtain approval to market any of our
product candidates, the risks associated with dependence upon key personnel, the
risks associated with reliance on collaborative partners and others for further
clinical trials, development, manufacturing and commercialization of our product
candidates; the cost, delays and uncertainties associated with our scientific
research, product development, clinical trials and regulatory approval process;
our history of operating losses since our inception; the highly competitive
nature of our business; risks associated with litigation; and risks associated
with our ability to protect our intellectual property. These factors and other
material risks are more fully discussed in our periodic reports, including our
reports on Forms 8-K, 10-Q and 10-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. You are urged to carefully review and consider the
disclosures found in our filings which are available at www.sec.gov or at
www.epicept.com. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements, any of which could turn out to be wrong due to
inaccurate assumptions, unknown risks or uncertainties or other risk factors. 

EPCT-GEN 

*Azixa is a registered trademark of Myriad Genetics, Inc.

EpiCept Corporation:
Robert W. Cook, 914-606-3500
rcook@epicept.com
or
Investors:
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates
Kim Sutton Golodetz, 212-838-3777
kgolodetz@lhai.com
or
Bruce Voss, 310-691-7100
bvoss@lhai.com
or
Media:
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
Greg Kelley, 617-577-8110
gregory.kelley@fkhealth.com