Bentley Pharmaceuticals Plans for Future Growth by Purchasing Exeter, NH Office Building and Real Estate.

Business Editors/Health Writers

NORTH HAMPTON, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2003

Building to House Bentley's Corporate, Administrative

and Research and Development Operations;

Alleged Patent Infringement Proceeding Re-Launched

Against Spanish Subsidiary Of Bentley Pharmaceuticals;

After Previous Failure, Merck Attempts Once

Again to Halt Competition for Simvastatin 

Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: BNT), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on advanced drug-delivery technologies, which also manufactures and markets generic and branded products in Europe, today announced that it has outgrown its existing space and has acquired land and a commercial building in Exeter, NH, that it will use as its corporate headquarters.

Bentley plans to relocate its administrative and research and development functions, which are presently housed in leased space in North Hampton, NH. Bentley, whose growth rate was approximately 50% in 2002, expects rapid growth to continue in 2003 and beyond. The 15,766 square foot building is conveniently located in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire, about 45 minutes north of Boston, MA and 30 minutes east of Manchester, NH. Effective in March 2003, the company's new address will be One Bentley Park, Exeter, NH 03833. New telephone and fax numbers will be announced in the near future.

Commenting on the company's expansion, Mr. Murphy stated, "We are executing our business strategy and growing rapidly. We simply outgrew our existing space quicker than anticipated and were fortunate to locate a commercial property, in the adjacent town of Exeter that will accommodate laboratories as well as administrative offices. We are confident that this space will be sufficient to accommodate our future growth and look forward to being another member of the Exeter corporate community."

Bentley also announced that on January 23, 2003, its Spanish subsidiary, Laboratorios Belmac, S.A., was notified that Merck & Co., Inc. commenced a legal proceeding seeking to halt sale of its of simvastatin, which Merck markets under the trade name Zocor(R). The action also attempts to recover lost profits, after having failed in its previous attempt to halt Belmac's commercialization of this product.

The proceeding was brought in a civil trial court in Madrid, Spain and alleges that Belmac's simvastatin violates several of Merck's process patents. Merck attempted to bring substantially the same case against Belmac in January 2002 by seeking an interim injunction, which was denied on February 22, 2002. In that case, Belmac demonstrated that its simvastatin is manufactured using a patented process that does not infringe any of Merck's patents. Laboratorios Belmac was granted court costs in that case as the court considered Merck's actions to be rash.

Adolfo Herrera, Belmac's general manager commented, "Merck has brought these simvastatin cases against us and other companies in Spain on 14 other occasions and has lost every case, most of which had identical circumstances. Our source of active ingredient does not infringe their patents and our product is in full compliance with Spanish law. We are looking forward to the opportunity to demonstrate that fact in court once again."

James Murphy, Chairman and CEO, stated, "Simvastatin is among the many products that have contributed to our growth in Europe over the past year, where we continue to increase our share of Spain's rapidly emerging pharmaceutical market. We recognize that our rapid growth and success will be attacked by companies that seek to eliminate legitimate competition through groundless legal proceedings. We are confident that we will prevail once again and that groundless attempts to preserve market share through questionable tactics will be fruitless."

Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on advanced drug delivery technologies and pharmaceutical products. Bentley's proprietary drug technologies enhance or facilitate the absorption of pharmaceutical compounds across various membranes. Bentley also manufactures and markets a growing portfolio of generic and branded pharmaceuticals in Spain for the treatment of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infectious and neurological diseases through its subsidiaries Laboratorios Belmac and Laboratorios Davur. Copies of the company's press releases and other information may be obtained through Bentley's web site at www.bentleypharm.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements which are not historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with identifying suitable drugs for drug delivery technologies, expanding generic and branded drug operations, development and commercialization of our products, relationships with our strategic partners, uncertainty of clinical trials, regulatory approval process, product sales concentration, unpredictability of patent protection, technological changes, the effect of economic conditions and other uncertainties detailed in Bentley's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.