Pain Therapeutics Expands Patent Portfolio for Novel Pain Medications

[antiquity]

Pain Therapeutics Expands Patent Portfolio for Novel Pain Medications
April 04, 2002 2:02:00 PM ET

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Pain Therapeutics, Inc., PTIE, a medical research company, today announced a significant expansion of its patent portfolio.

Until recently Pain Therapeutics' technology was protected by less than 20 issued or pending patents worldwide covering composition of matter and use claims covering combinations of opioid agonists and low-dose opioid antagonists, as well as low-dose opioid antagonists alone. Its intellectual property is now protected by more than 30 such filings, including:

-- Five Issued U.S. Patents
-- One U.S. Notice of Allowance
-- Five U.S. Pending Patent Applications
-- Eighteen Foreign Issued Patents and Pending Patent Applications
"We are delighted that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office continues to acknowledge our innovation, technology and expertise," said Remi Barbier, president and chief executive officer of Pain Therapeutics. "These patents and patent publications mark additional milestones in securing the Company's position as an emerging leader in pain management."

Pain Therapeutics' two lead drug candidates, MorViva(TM) and OxyTrex(TM), along with the rest of its pipeline, use proprietary technology exclusively licensed from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. This technology combines an opioid agonist, such as morphine, with a low-dose opioid antagonist, such as naltrexone. Published results demonstrate that at extremely low doses, opioid antagonists can improve the performance of the agonist.

About Opioid Painkillers

Opioid ("narcotic") painkillers are drugs derived from opium and the poppy plant. The clinical use of opioid drugs to treat severe pain is widely accepted throughout the world. In the United States, opioid drugs exceed $3 billion in annual sales and account for over five percent of all prescription drug sales. Despite widespread use, opioid painkillers have debilitating effects that limit their usefulness at all doses. Chronic use may lead to tolerance, dependence, abuse, or, more rarely, addiction. As a result, some patients prefer to suffer through pain rather than endure the ill effects of opioid drugs. The under-treatment of pain is a serious and growing problem in the U.S. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health, over 40 million Americans are unable to find relief from their pain.

About Pain Therapeutics, Inc.

We are a medical research company specializing in the discovery and development of novel proprietary painkillers. We believe our lead drug candidates, MorViva(TM) and OxyTrex(TM), may offer more pain relief (with no increase in side-effects) and lower tolerance/dependence, withdrawal effects or addiction potential compared to conventional forms of oxycodone and morphine. The target market for our drugs exceeds $3 billion in the United States. Our proprietary painkillers are currently in various phases of clinical testing, including Phase II trials. Pain Therapeutics is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol PTIE.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and it is Pain Therapeutics' intent that such statements be protected by the safe harbor created thereby. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to the benefits that may be derived from the Company's patents or technology, the potential benefits of the Company's drug candidates, and the size of the potential market for the Company's products. Such statements are based on management's current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties relating to difficulties or delays in development, testing, regulatory approval, production and marketing of the Company's drug candidates, unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of the Company's drug candidates that could slow or prevent product approval (including the risk that current and past results of clinical trials are not necessarily indicative of future results of clinical trials), the uncertainty of patent protection for the Company's intellectual property or trade secrets and the Company's ability to obtain additional financing if necessary. For further information regarding these and other risks related to the Company's business, investors should consult the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001.