EpiCept Transfers Ceplene Responsibilities in European Union and Sells License Rights to Meda


ONLY TERRITORY ALREADY LICENSED TO MEDA AFFECTED
TARRYTOWN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE (http://www.businesswire.com/))-- Regulatory
News:

EpiCept Corporation (Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange and OTCQX: EPCT) today
announced that it has sold all of its rights to Ceplene® in the territories
previously licensed to Meda AB, and a portion of its remaining Ceplene®
inventory, to Meda for approximately $2.6 million in cash and the assumption of
EpiCept's ongoing responsibilities related to the manufacture and maintenance of
the marketing authorization of Ceplene® in the European Union. The cash received
from this transaction together with the savings from future expenses, after
making a partial prepayment on EpiCept's existing term loan with MidCap
Financial LLC of approximately $0.8 million, will enable EpiCept to operate into
the fourth quarter 2012 without further financing.

Under the terms of the transaction, Meda has as of the closing date assumed
responsibility for the manufacturing of Ceplene® in the territories previously
licensed to Meda and will absorb all of the remaining expenses relating to the
post-approval clinical study of Ceplene®that is required by the European
Medicines Agency (EMA). EpiCept has also agreed to relinquish all future
milestone payments and royalty on future sales of Ceplene® by Meda. In
conjunction with the closing of this transaction EpiCept will close its EpiCept
GmbH facility in Munich, Germany.

Jack Talley, President and CEO of EpiCept, commented, “This transaction is
important to EpiCept because it strengthens our liquidity position, saves
capital by eliminating our ongoing financial commitment to Ceplene® in Europe,
and allows us to focus resources on our other products in development, notably
AmiKet™. We are pleased that we have been able to complete this transaction and
look forward to working closely with Meda in the transitioning efforts.”

EpiCept maintains full ownership of Ceplene® in those countries not previously
licensed to Meda, including all of North and South America. The Company’s
agreement with Megapharm Ltd. for the sales of Ceplene® in Israel is not a part
of the transaction.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. acted as financial adviser to EpiCept in this
transaction. EpiCept engaged SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. in January 2012 to
assist in exploring strategic alternatives to maximize the commercial
opportunity of AmiKet™ for the treatment of CIPN following taxane-based therapy.
The sale of licensed Ceplene® rights to Meda provides additional liquidity to
the Company’s operations and may enhance EpiCept’s ability to finalize a
transaction with potential acquirers or with investors or licensors of AmiKet™.

About EpiCept Corporation

EpiCept is focused on the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical
products for the treatment of pain and cancer. The Company's pain portfolio
includes AmiKet™, a prescription topical analgesic cream in late-stage clinical
development designed to provide effective long-term relief of pain associated
with peripheral neuropathies. The Company's lead oncology 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 other 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.

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
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 Myrexis, the risk that clinical trials for AmiKet™ or
crolibulinTM will not be successful, the risk that AmiKet™ or crolibulinTM 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 AmiKet™ 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 (http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fus.
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www.epicept.com (http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2
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-US&anchor=www.epicept.com&index=2&md5=d69a59e936d3d75216c5d9dd64e735cc). 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.

*Azixa is a registered trademark of Myrexis, Inc.

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

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