COCENSYS AND CIBA ANNOUNCE AMENDMENT OF U.S. MARKETING AGREEMENT; CoCensys Simultaneously Announces Cognex(R) U.S. Co-Promotion Collaboration with Warner-Lambert.

IRVINE, Calif.--(HealthWire)--Oct. 31, 1995--CoCensys (Nasdaq: COCN) today announced the successful amendment of its U.S. marketing agreement with Ciba Pharmaceuticals of Summit, N.J., a division of the Ciba-Geigy Corporation. Under the terms of the amended agreement, CoCensys will continue to market and promote three of Ciba's CNS drugs, including Anafranil(R) (clomipramine hydrochloride) indicated for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder until the end of 1996, at which time both companies have mutually agreed to conclude co-promotion activities. The co-development of Acea 1021 with Ciba-Geigy Limited of Basel, Switzerland for the treatment of stroke and head trauma is not affected by this amendment to the co-promotion agreement.

"CoCensys' and Ciba's co-marketing effort has maximized the near-term market potential of Anafranil and Tofranil(R) (imipramine hydrochloride) in the face of increasing competition from newer generation drugs," said Daniel L. Korpolinski, President and CEO of CoCensys. "After careful analysis by our joint marketing committee, and in anticipation of generic clomipramine entries, both companies have agreed that we can better deploy our resources to promote other products with greater potential after 1996. In line with CoCensys' business strategy, we continue to actively negotiate higher-value co-promotional opportunities that optimize sales call capacity while moving toward products with higher profit margins."

"We are grateful to Ciba for providing their expertise and support, which has helped CoCensys establish its sales organization and gain valuable promotional experience in the CNS market while generating profits from current product sales," Mr. Korpolinski added. "We are quite pleased with Ciba's continuing support and enthusiasm for the development of Acea 1021 as a potential treatment for stroke and head trauma and look forward to co-promoting this product in the U.S. In the meantime, the amended agreement gives CoCensys the flexibility to utilize our specialized CNS sales force to address new co-promotional opportunities in both the psychiatric and neurology business arenas."

In a separate announcement today, CoCensys announced two new strategic collaborations with Warner-Lambert Company, and its Parke-Davis division, to develop and market therapeutic drugs for the treatment of CNS disorders. Under the first agreement, the companies will co-develop a new class of neurological and psychiatric drugs, termed subtype selective NMDA receptor antagonists. In the second collaboration, CoCensys will co-promote Parke-Davis' CNS drug, Cognex(R) (tacrine hydrochloride), to U.S. neurologists for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

CoCensys, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets products to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. The Company's product development programs focus on two novel proprietary classes of compounds: Epalons, to treat epilepsy, anxiety and sleep disorders; and Glystasins, to treat stroke and head trauma, chronic pain and epilepsy.

CONTACT: Daniel L. Korpolinski Karen L. Bergman (Media)

President and CEO Lilian S. Stern (Investors)

CoCensys, Inc. Burns McClellan, Inc.

714/753-6100 212/505-1919