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news from the pipeline, press release from Neotherapeutics, Inc: NeoTherapeutics presents Neotrofin data in Parkinson's disease model at 4th Annual American Society of Experimental NeuroTherapeutics (ASENT) meeting Results provide additional support for ongoing phase 2 study IRVINE, Calif., March 15, 2002 -- NeoTherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOT) presented exciting data on the neuroprotective effects of Neotrofin* in animal models of Parkinson's disease at the 4th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Experimental NeuroTherapeutics. In pre-clinical studies, Neotrofin demonstrated superior neuroprotective effects than riluzole, an approved drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. NeoTherapeutics is presently conducting a 40 patient phase 2 study of Neotrofin in patients with early stages of Parkinson's disease. In the pre-clinical studies, Neotrofin protected dopamine neurons in both animal models of Parkinson's disease and in tissue culture. Dopamine neurons are the type of neuron that are damaged in patients with Parkinson's disease, and the models used in these experiments are commonly used to evaluate drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. "These studies represent an example of the continuing development of our expertise in neurodegenerative diseases," said Michelle Glasky, Ph.D., Vice President, Scientific Affairs of NeoTherapeutics. "NeoTherapeutics' pre-clinical research team is expanding our research efforts to support the on-going clinical trials and new indications for Neotrofin and the other drugs in our development pipeline." The phase 2 study of Neotrofin in Parkinson's disease is being conducted at five hospitals specializing in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and movement disorders. To date, 28 patients have been enrolled in the study, which is expected to conclude by year-end. Parkinson's disease is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders affecting more than one million patients in North America alone. The principal hallmarks of Parkinson's disease are slowness of movement, rigidity and tremor. Although current treatments provide some symptomatic relief, Parkinson's disease progresses inexorably, often over 10 to 20 years, to severe immobility and a bedridden state. NeoTherapeutics seeks to create value for stockholders through the discovery and development of central nervous system (CNS) drugs, in-licensing and commercialization of anti-cancer drugs, and the licensing out of new drug targets discovered through genomics research. The Company has two drugs addressing major medical needs in pivotal/phase 3 stage of development: Neotrofin(tm) for Alzheimer's disease and satraplatin for prostate cancer. Additional n eurology and anti-cancer drugs are in phase 1 and 2 human clinical trials and the Company has a rich pipeline of pre-clinical drug candidates. For additional information visit the Company's web site at [URL=http://www.neot.com.]www.neot.com.[/URL] This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of NeoTherapeutics that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks are described in further detail in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn