Neurogen Corp (NRGN)

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Neurogen Announces R&D Update
Friday February 8, 6:00 am ET
Conference call scheduled for 8:30 a.m. today

BRANFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neurogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NRGN - News) today updated the status of its later stage clinical portfolio and announced the future focus of its research efforts.

Key elements of the update are:

* Neurogen intends to pursue five unpartnered clinical programs in 2008 to address anxiety, insomnia, Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia, including:

-- Expansion of Neurogen's GABA-based clinical program into anxiety disorders, capitalizing on the Company's recent primate studies indicating anxiety relieving effects at doses substantially lower than those producing other effects, such as sedation
-- Advancement of adipiplon, Neurogen's lead GABA-based drug for insomnia, into a side-by-side study with Ambien CR(TM)
-- Progression of aplindore, Neurogen's dopamine D2 partial agonist, through a recently commenced Phase 2 study for RLS
-- Progression of aplindore through a recently commenced Phase 2 study for Parkinson's disease
-- Expansion of Neurogen's GABA program into schizophrenia, based upon growing evidence linking GABA modulation with cognitive enhancement in schizophrenic patients

* Focusing the research and early development platform to target specialist care diseases with large market potential

“Over the next 12 months, we expect to generate important data in all five clinical programs,” said Stephen R. Davis, President & CEO. “We’ve been evaluating the expansion of our GABA clinical program into anxiety and schizophrenia over the last several months. We plan to initiate exploratory proof-of-concept clinical studies in each of these indications in the middle of 2008 and expect results by year-end. For insomnia, we intend to run adipiplon side-by-side with Ambien CR in a crossover study designed to further define the clinical and commercial profile of our drug. We expect results from this study to be available around year-end. We have just initiated Phase 2 studies with aplindore in both RLS and Parkinson’s disease and expect results in the fourth quarter of 2008 or the first quarter of 2009.”

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