Anesta Corp. Licenses Actiq Rights to Elan / Novel Breakthrough Pain Therapy to Be Marketed by Elan Pharma International

SALT LAKE CITY (PROTEXT) - Anesta Corp. (Nasdaq: NSTA) announced today the signing of an exclusive agreement between Anesta and Elan Pharma International (a unit of Elan Corporation, plc, (NYSE: ELN)) for the marketing, sales, and distribution of Anesta's line of oral transmucosal fentanyl products, including Actiq(R) (oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate). The agreement covers Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. (Photo: http://www/newscom.com/cig- bin/prnh/19990914/ANESTALOGO ) The commercial terms of the agreement include license and milestone payments of up to US$30 million and royalties on future sales. Anesta plans on manufacturing the products for Elan in Salt Lake City. A Marketing Approval Application for Actiq was recently filed in the United Kingdom, where Anesta also requested that the Actiq dossier form the basis of a European Assessment. In this instance, the UK would act as the reference member state for a planned future pan-European registration of this product through the Mutual Recognition Procedure. Thomas B. King, president and chief executive officer of Anesta, commented, "Breakthrough cancer pain is a debilitating condition, and prior to the development of Actiq, less than satisfactory treatment options were available for the medical community. We are very pleased to add Elan, one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies headquartered in Europe, as our latest partner to market Actiq. Elan's long-term commitment to improving pain management therapies is an important fit with Anesta's global strategy for Actiq." Donal J. Geaney, chairman and chief executive officer of Elan, said, "We look forward to working with Anesta to launch and market this innovative new therapy for cancer pain patients. Today's announcement," continued Mr. Geaney, "is in line with our strategy of enhancing our global position in the therapeutic area of pain management where we are developing a leading presence. We are confident that we have the sales and management infrastructure to enable us to effectively commercialize Actiq." Anesta has three additional European partnerships in place for Actiq -- Grupo Ferrer Internacional SA for Spain and Portugal, Laboratoire L. Lafon for France, and Swedish Orphan AB for Scandinavia. Anesta is a leader in the development of new pharmaceutical products for oral transmucosal drug administration. The Company's principal product is Actiq, which was launched in the United States on March 31, 1999. Actiq is marketed and manufactured by Abbott Laboratories in the U.S. under a license agreement with Anesta. Anesta has five investigational products in clinical development; OT-nicotine for smoking cessation, OT-fentanyl for acute pain management, OT-etomidate for short-acting sedation, OT-piroxicam as a non-opioid analgesic, and OT-droperidol as an anti-emetic. This news release contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Future events may differ materially from those discussed herein, due to a number of factors, including the ability of the Company to achieve the milestones required to receive additional payments from Elan. These factors are more fully discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 under the headings "Risk Factors - International Commercialization of Actiq Faces Significant Obstacles" and "Risk Factors - Market Acceptance Of Actiq Is Uncertain." In addition, the Company's results could also be affected by a number of other risks and uncertainties which are more fully discussed under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998. Further information on Anesta Corp. is available at http://www.anesta.com. ots Original Text Service: Anesta Corp. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Thomas B. King or Roger P. Evans, both of Anesta Corp., 801-595-1405 /Photo: NewsCom: http://www/newscom.com/cig-bin/prnh/19990914/ANESTALOGO PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467 Company News On- Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/020650.html or fax, 800-758- 5804, ext. 020650 Web site: http://www.anesta.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT