LA JOLLA, Calif., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SIBI) today announced that on May 27, 1999 it filed a counterclaim in
United States District Court for the District of Delaware for patent
infringement against Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer) concerning Pfizer's use of SIBIA's
patented transcription-based assays.  SIBIA's counterclaim alleges
infringement of U.S. patent 5,401,629 by Pfizer and seeks injunctive relief
and damages for Pfizer's infringement of this patent.  On May 7, 1999 SIBIA
was served with a complaint for declaratory relief initiated by Pfizer
concerning SIBIA's transcription-based assay patents, U.S. Patent No.
5,401,629 and 5,436,128.
    "SIBIA intends to offer only a limited number of licenses to its patented
transcription based assay technology," stated Stephen F. Keane, SIBIA's
Vice-President for Corporate Development.  "Pfizer's failure to respond to our
invitations to participate as one of those licensees and admissions that it
has and continues to use that screening technology leaves us with no choice
but to defend our intellectual property assets and seek substantial damages
from Pfizer for its deliberate infringement."
    The '629 patent, one of the patents identified in Pfizer's suit and the
subject of SIBIA's counterclaim, 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 million,
requested by SIBIA.  The jury also found that the patent was valid and
enforceable.
    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 Eli
Lilly & Company, 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 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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