AVANIR Completes $15 Million Sale of Common Stock.

SAN DIEGO -- AVANIR Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVNR) announced that it has completed the previously announced sales of 5,263,158 shares of Class A common stock at a price of $2.85 per share. As part of the sales of common stock, the purchasers also received warrants to purchase 1,052,633 shares of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $3.30 per share. The warrants become exercisable six months after the closing and then remain exercisable for a period of six months. The gross proceeds from the offering are approximately $15 million, before offering expenses and commissions, and the net offering proceeds are approximately $14.4 million. The securities were sold by AVANIR.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC acted as the sole placement agent in connection with this transaction.

This offering is being made only by means of a prospectus and prospectus supplement. Copies of the prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from the offices of Rodman & Renshaw, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

A registration statement relating to these securities was filed with and has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state.

About AVANIR

AVANIR Pharmaceuticals is focused on developing, acquiring and commercializing novel therapeutic products for the treatment of chronic diseases. AVANIR's products and product candidates address therapeutic markets that include the central nervous system, cardiovascular disorders, inflammation and infectious diseases. AVANIR currently markets FazaClo([R]), the only orally-disintegrating formulation of clozapine for the management of severely ill schizophrenic patients who fail to respond adequately to standard schizophrenic drug treatments. FazaClo is also indicated for reducing the risk of suicidal behavior in patients with schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorder. For full prescribing information and important safety information regarding FazaClo, please visit www.fazaclo.com. Zenvia[TM], AVANIR's lead product candidate, is under development for the treatment of involuntary emotional expression disorder. Additionally, AVANIR has initiated a Phase III clinical trial with Zenvia as a potential treatment for patients with painful diabetic neuropathy. AVANIR has active collaborations with two international pharmaceutical companies: Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd. for the treatment of inflammatory disease and AstraZeneca for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The Company's first commercialized product, abreva([R]), is marketed in North America by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and is the leading over-the-counter product for the treatment of cold sores. Further information about AVANIR can be found at www.avanir.com.

Forward Looking Statement

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements that are preceded by, followed by, or that include such words as "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", or "expect", or similar statements, are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties also include the risks set forth in AVANIR's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and from time-to-time in other publicly available information regarding the Company. Copies of this information are available from AVANIR upon request. AVANIR disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.