NTII Neurobiological Technologies (MM)

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. (NTI(R)) (NASDAQ:NTII), today announced it has received approximately $1,708,000 from Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH (Merz) for sales of Memantine for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. Under an exclusive marketing agreement, NTI receives quarterly royalty payments on sales of Memantine by Merz and its marketing partners. Paul E. Freiman, President and CEO of Neurobiological Technologies, said, "The continued growth of Memantine is a pleasing development and we value our relationship with Merz. While Memantine represents a source of income to NTI, our main focus is the development of Viprinex(TM) (ancrod) for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in our phase III ASP-I and ASP-II trials." Mr. Freiman continued, "Additionally, the company continues to work with Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. (Celtic) in its development of XERECEPT(R), currently in phase III development for the treatment of peritumoral brain edema. We consider ourselves fortunate to be involved with two products in such advanced stages of development." Mr. Freiman concluded, "This payment, along with the $4 million we received earlier this month from Celtic, will be spent primarily on the development of Viprinex." About Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. NTI is a drug development company focused on the clinical evaluation and regulatory approval of neuroscience drugs. The company's strategy is to in-license and develop early- and later-stage drug candidates that target major medical needs and which can be rapidly commercialized. NTI's experienced management team oversees the human clinical trials necessary to establish preliminary evidence of efficacy. We anticipate that we will continue to acquire and develop late-stage neurologic drug candidates and will develop the resources to market these drugs in selected world regions. Our goal is to develop and market drug candidates in the United States, Europe and Asia, and we may seek partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to assist us. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.ntii.com/. NOTE: Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including: our reliance on Merz and its marketing partners, our dependence on third parties for the development, regulatory approval and successful commercialization of our products, the inherent risk of failure in developing product candidates based on new technologies, the risks associated with the cost of clinical development efforts, and other risks detailed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Actual results may differ materially from those projected. These forward-looking statements represent our judgment as of the date of the release. We disclaim, however, any intent to update these forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. CONTACT: Paul E. Freiman, President & CEO, or Craig W. Carlson, Vice President & CFO, both of Neurobiological Technologies, Inc., +1-510-595-6000 Web site: http://www.ntii.com/

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