LA JOLLA, Calif., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SIBI) today announced the recent issuance by the United States Patent
and Trademark Office of United States Patent No. 5,863,902 relating to the
Company's novel compounds and methods for treating amyloid plaque deposition
in Alzheimer's disease, and patents 5,587,958, 5,874,236 and 5,876,958
relating to drug screening directed at voltage-gated calcium channels which
are implicated in chronic pain, epilepsy, stroke and migraine, diseases with
significant unmet needs in treatment.
    Dr. Jeffrey F. McKelvy, Chief Scientific Officer at SIBIA Neurosciences
stated, "These issued patents reflect the success of SIBIA's research programs
in defining molecular targets linked to important diseases of the nervous
system, and establishing a solid basis for drug screening against those
targets.  These patents further strengthen SIBIA's product development
activities in major indications."
    SIBIA's intellectual property position includes 48 issued U.S. patents,
13 allowed U.S. patents and 58 U.S. patent applications pending, as well as
26 issued foreign patents and 71 foreign patents pending.

    SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc. is engaged in the discovery and development of
novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative,
neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, many of which have large patient
populations and represent critical unmet medical needs.  SIBIA is a leader in
the development of proprietary drug discovery platforms that combine key tools
necessary for modern drug discovery, including genomics, high throughput
screening, advanced combinatorial chemistry techniques and pharmacology.  The
Company's proprietary molecular targets and drug candidates, together with its
drug discovery technologies and research expertise, have enabled the Company
to establish several corporate collaborations, which currently include
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd., and multiple
technology licensing arrangements.
    This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties.  As a result, actual results could differ materially from
those discussed herein.  These risks and uncertainties include whether SIBIA
will be able to meet its development goals with respect to its drug candidates
and proprietary targets, SIBIA's early stage of development, the new and
uncertain state of SIBIA's technologies, uncertainties regarding patents and
proprietary rights and other research, development and market risks.  These
and other risks and uncertainties are more fully set forth in SIBIA's most
recently filed Forms 10-Q and 10-K.

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