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 betweenAnesta and Elan Pharma International (a unit of Elan Corporation,plc, (NYSE: ELN)) for the marketing, sales, and distribution ofAnesta's line of oral transmucosal fentanyl products, includingActiq(R) (oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate). The agreementcovers Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,Luxembourg, Netherlands, Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, andthe United Kingdom. (Photo: http://www/newscom.com/cig-bin/prnh/19990914/ANESTALOGO ) The commercial terms of the agreement include license andmilestone payments of up to US$30 million and royalties on futuresales. Anesta plans on manufacturing the products for Elan inSalt Lake City. A Marketing Approval Application for Actiq wasrecently filed in the United Kingdom, where Anesta also requestedthat the Actiq dossier form the basis of a European Assessment.In this instance, the UK would act as the reference member statefor a planned future pan-European registration of this productthrough the Mutual Recognition Procedure. Thomas B. King, president and chief executive officer ofAnesta, commented, "Breakthrough cancer pain is a debilitatingcondition, and prior to the development of Actiq, less thansatisfactory treatment options were available for the medicalcommunity. We are very pleased to add Elan, one of the fastestgrowing pharmaceutical companies headquartered in Europe, as ourlatest partner to market Actiq. Elan's long-term commitment toimproving pain management therapies is an important fit withAnesta'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 andmarket this innovative new therapy for cancer pain patients.Today's announcement," continued Mr. Geaney, "is in line with ourstrategy of enhancing our global position in the therapeutic areaof pain management where we are developing a leading presence. Weare confident that we have the sales and managementinfrastructure to enable us to effectively commercialize Actiq." Anesta has three additional European partnerships in place forActiq -- Grupo Ferrer Internacional SA for Spain and Portugal,Laboratoire L. Lafon for France, and Swedish Orphan AB forScandinavia. Anesta is a leader in the development of new pharmaceuticalproducts for oral transmucosal drug administration. The Company'sprincipal product is Actiq, which was launched in the UnitedStates on March 31, 1999. Actiq is marketed and manufactured byAbbott Laboratories in the U.S. under a license agreement withAnesta. Anesta has five investigational products in clinicaldevelopment; OT-nicotine for smoking cessation, OT-fentanyl foracute pain management, OT-etomidate for short-acting sedation,OT-piroxicam as a non-opioid analgesic, and OT-droperidol as ananti-emetic. This news release contains forward looking statements thatinvolve risks and uncertainties. Future events may differmaterially from those discussed herein, due to a number offactors, including the ability of the Company to achieve themilestones required to receive additional payments from Elan.These factors are more fully discussed in the Company's AnnualReport on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 underthe headings "Risk Factors - International Commercialization ofActiq Faces Significant Obstacles" and "Risk Factors - MarketAcceptance Of Actiq Is Uncertain." In addition, the Company'sresults could also be affected by a number of other risks anduncertainties which are more fully discussed under the headings"Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis ofFinancial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Company'sAnnual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998. Further information on Anesta Corp. is available athttp://www.anesta.com. ots Original Text Service: Anesta Corp.Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Thomas B. King orRoger P. Evans, both of Anesta Corp., 801-595-1405 /Photo:NewsCom: http://www/newscom.com/cig-bin/prnh/19990914/ANESTALOGOPRN 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

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