PHOENIX, April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that its ViziLite(R) Plus Oral Lesion Identification and Marking System, the newest tool in the fight against oral disease, is being used by the largest privately held retail dental practice management group in the Northeast, Aspen Dental Management, Inc. Aspen dentists in New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are using the product now; Aspen expects to offer ViziLite exams in all of its 82 offices in seven states by late Spring. "Aspen Dental and its affiliated dentists are committed to providing our patients superior levels of dental care," said Robert A. Fontana, Aspen's president and CEO. "We are extremely pleased to offer this latest advance in early-detection oral screening, which raises our standard of care to Aspen patients to yet another level. ViziLite(R) Plus is an important tool, one that may help us save patients' lives." "It is gratifying to know that dentists in the respected Aspen Dental Management organization are embracing the new ViziLite(R) Plus technology in their practices," said Jeff Mazzarella, Vice President of Sales for Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "We're seeing a steady increase in adoption of ViziLite(R) Plus exams around the country. With one American dying every hour from oral cancer, it is critical that we all see a dentist at least once a year, and get a thorough head and neck exam. ViziLite Plus improves the ability to detect lesions early and early detection saves lives." Oral cancer is among the most deadly cancer types in the U.S., largely owing to the fact that roughly two-thirds of all oral cancers are detected at advanced stage. There are some 30,000 new cases of oropharyngeal cancer each year, and 8,000 related deaths. When oral cancer is detected early, survival rates are about 80%; detected late, the survival rate falls to 20%. The American Dental Association says that while most cases of oral cancer affect people who use tobacco and/or drink heavily, more than a quarter of oral cancers occur in people who do not smoke and have no other risk factors. ViziLite Plus combines the oral screening technology of ViziLite, an advanced chemiluminescent light technology, with TBlue630, a marking system using Zila(R) Tolonium Chloride (ZTC(TM)), the only patented pharmaceutical-grade form of toluidine blue used in marking lesions identified during a ViziLite examination. ViziLite Plus is indicated for use in individuals at increased risk for oral cancer. If ViziLite reveals an abnormality, TBlue630 may be used to mark suspicious lesions for further evaluation. For more information about ViziLite Plus, visit http://www.vizilite.com/. For more information about Aspen Dental Management, visit http://www.apsendent.com/. About Aspen Dental Management, Inc. Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) is the premier dental practice management firm in the Northeast, providing leading-edge business, operational, marketing and laboratory expertise to its affiliated dentists in 82 dental offices throughout New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. This expertise enables Aspen Dentists to grow professionally while they realize optimum productivity and practice revenue. This collaborative relationship allows dentists to focus on providing quality dental care. Aspen Dentists serve the dental care needs of historically under-served members of the community, by focusing on the forty percent of the population with no regular dentist or pattern of dental visits. In 2005, Aspen dentists received about 600,000 patient visits, including visits from over 90,000 new patients and 15,000 denture patients. ADMI expects more than 700,000 patient visits in 2006. About Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a division of Zila, Inc. headquartered in Phoenix, is the marketer of products to promote oral health and prevent oral disease, including ViziLite(R) Plus Oral Lesion Identification and marking System and Peridex(R) prescription periodontal rinse. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based largely on Zila's expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected by inaccurate assumptions and are subject to various business risks and known and unknown uncertainties, a number of which are beyond the Company's control. Therefore, actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. A wide variety of factors could cause or contribute to such differences and could adversely impact revenues, profitability, cash flows and capital needs. There can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will, in fact, transpire or prove to be accurate. For a more detailed description of these and other cautionary factors that may affect Zila's future results, please refer to Zila's Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended July 31, 2005. DATASOURCE: Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Andrew Stevens, +1-602-266-6700, for Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; or Public Relations, William Sklar of Sklar & Associates, +1-520-299-2830, for Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Web site: http://www.vizilite.com/ http://www.apsendent.com/

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