LA JOLLA, Calif., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SIBIA Neurosciences (SIBIA)
(Nasdaq: SIBI) today announced that on May 7, 1999 it was served with a
complaint for declaratory relief concerning its transcription-based assay
patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,401,629 and 5,436,128.  The suit was filed in
United States District Court for the District of Delaware by Pfizer, Inc. and
alleges that SIBIA's '629 and '128 patents are not infringed, are invalid and
unenforceable.
    The '629 patent, one of the patents identified in Pfizer's suit, was the
subject of litigation between SIBIA and Cadus Pharmaceutical Corporation.  On
March 10, 1999, the United States District Court for the Southern District of
California entered judgment and a permanent injunction in favor of SIBIA in
that suit.  The court entered judgment after a jury awarded the full amount of
the damages, $18.0 million, requested by SIBIA.  The jury also found that the
patent was valid and enforceable.
    "We are surprised that Pfizer has chosen this means of communicating its
lack of interest in a license," stated Stephen F. Keane, SIBIA's
Vice-President, Corporate Development.  "It appears that Pfizer's intention
not to participate in our licensing program is in stark contrast to our
successful licensing of this technology to Bristol-Myers Squibb, SmithKline
Beecham, Aurora, Neurocrine, Novartis, and others.  Keane added, "We are
currently in negotiations with a number of other companies and expect that the
value of this patented technology will increase as licensed by additional
biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies."

    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 research 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.  Actual results could differ materially from those
discussed herein.  These risks and uncertainties include risks and
uncertainties regarding the Company's ongoing litigation with Cadus, including
uncertainties regarding appeals and related proceedings, risks and
uncertainties regarding the enforceability of the Company's patents, risks
relating to SIBIA's ability to enter into additional '629 patent licenses or
generate substantial licensing revenue from its '629 patent or other
technologies, the risk that license revenue could be significantly reduced as
a result of future developments relating to the Cadus litigation, whether
SIBIA will be able to meet its development goals, the new and uncertain state
of SIBIA's technologies, SIBIA's future capital needs and the uncertainty of
receiving additional funding, 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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