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Novacea Stockholders Approve Merger With
Transcept
South San Francisco, California, January 27, 2009 -- Novacea,
Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVC) announced today that its stockholders
approved the proposals to complete the proposed merger with
Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at a special meeting of
stockholders held earlier in the day. The merger is expected to
close after satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions
specified in the merger agreement, which is currently expected
to occur within the next week. Immediately following completion
of the merger, Novacea will change its name to Transcept
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and common stock in the combined company
will trade on The NASDAQ Global Market® under the symbol "TSPT".
The merger of Novacea and Transcept will result in a
NASDAQ-listed specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the
development and commercialization of proprietary products that
address important therapeutic needs in the fields of psychiatry
and sleep medicine. The lead Transcept product candidate,
Intermezzo®, is a sublingual low dose formulation of zolpidem
that has been developed for use as-needed for the treatment of
insomnia when a middle of the night awakening is followed by
difficulty returning to sleep. Intermezzo® Phase 3 clinical
trials have been completed and, on September 30, 2008, Transcept
submitted a New Drug Application for Intermezzo® to the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, which was accepted for filing on
December 15, 2008. The related Prescription Drug User Fee Act
(PDUFA) date is scheduled for July 30, 2009.
John P. Walker, Novacea’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
of the Board, commented, "I appreciate the vote of the Novacea
stockholders who share the belief of our board and management
team that Transcept represents a compelling opportunity for
value creation. The management of Transcept, led by Glenn
Oclassen, has a demonstrated track record of success in
partnering and commercially launching specialty pharmaceutical
products. Intermezzo® potentially represents a significant new
opportunity in the insomnia market and, if approved, is
positioned to be the first sleep therapeutic for use as-needed
at the time of middle of the night awakening. We believe that
the capital resources of the merged company give it the
potential to reach significant value creating milestones,
including the anticipated FDA approval of Intermezzo® in 2009
and corporate collaborations in the U.S. and in other world
markets. As a member of the merged company’s Board of Directors,
I look forward to working with Glenn and his management team as
they take Transcept forward to capitalize fully on this
opportunity."
About Novacea
Novacea is a biopharmaceutical company that had been focused on
in-licensing, developing and commercializing novel cancer
therapies. Novacea currently has two product candidates,
including AsentarTMwhich had been in a Phase 3 clinical trial
for androgen-independent prostate cancer, and AQ4N, a
hypoxia-activated prodrug. There are currently no clinical
trials underway or planned for AsentarTM or AQ4N, and both
programs are part of current out-licensing efforts by Novacea.
Safe Harbor
This press release contains forward-looking statements for
purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
(the "Act"). Novacea disclaims any intent or obligation to
update these forward-looking statements. |