Atlanta, GA–Sciele Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCRX) today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Addrenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop and market ADX415, a novel patented, centrally-acting alpha adrenergic receptor agonist, specific to Alpha-2 receptors, for the treatment of hypertension and other potential indications. Under the terms of the agreement, Sciele will have the worldwide marketing rights for ADX415, will pay the product development costs, and will also make regulatory milestone payments and royalty payments to Addrenex on product sales. Sciele and Addrenex expect to begin the Phase II clinical studies in the second half of 2008.

Ed Schutter, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sciele Pharma, said, This agreement further expands our relationship with Addrenex and provides the Company with a product in Phase II clinical development, expanding our pipeline beyond 2010. This is the first new chemical entity (NCE) that will be developed by Sciele. We are optimistic about the potential of ADX415 for the treatment of hypertension. According to a recent report from the American Health Association, hypertension has developed resistance to existing drugs and has become increasingly difficult to treat. By analyzing studies of patients with high blood pressure, an AHA panel concluded that 20% to 30% could not manage their condition with three or more medicines, even when used exactly as specified.

Moise Khayrallah, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Addrenex, said, This second partnership agreement with Sciele is particularly rewarding because it provides tangible proof that our compounds are valuable and that they fill a critical gap in the treatment of debilitating conditions. Although ADX415 is an NCE, we will benefit from valuable data already accumulated from several pre-clinical and clinical studies completed by Procter and Gamble and will therefore be able to move swiftly into clinical trials.