CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Announces Extension of Agreement with ISDIN S.A. to Include Greece.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

NEWTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2000

CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:CGPI) today announced that it has agreed to extend rights to ISDIN S.A. to market and distribute Periostat(R) in Greece.

Periostat is the first and only prescription pharmaceutical for the adjunctive treatment of adult periodontitis that works by suppressing the enzymes that destroy the periodontal support tissues.

ISDIN S.A. (a joint venture between the Spanish companies Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve S.A. and Antonio Puig S.A.) was appointed the distributor for Periostat in Spain and Portugal in April.

Financial terms were not disclosed. ISDIN will purchase Periostat from CollaGenex's wholly owned UK subsidiary, CollaGenex International Limited.

"We have formed a good working relationship with Antoni Esteve and Antonio Rodriguez and their colleagues at ISDIN," said Brian M. Gallagher, chairman, president and chief executive officer of CollaGenex, "and we are delighted to extend the agreement with them to include Greece as part of our continued roll out of CollaGenex into international markets. Our application for the registration of Periostat tablets in the United Kingdom is on track, and we anticipate that the applications in the rest of Europe, under the Mutual Recognition Procedure, will commence early next year."

Dr. Antoni Esteve, Director of Scientific and Commercial Operations at Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve S.A., and Antonio Rodriguez Escobar, General Manager of ISDIN S.A., commented "We have an excellent marketing partner in Greece, which is already serving the Greek dental professional community with pharmaceutical products from ISDIN and other companies with a well trained dental office field sales force. We are looking forward to working with them and with CollaGenex to bring Periostat to the Greek market, where market research has identified a real need for the product."

CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on providing innovative medical therapies to the dental market. The company's lead product, Periostat, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in September 1998 and by the UK Medicines Control Agency in February 2000.

It is the first and only prescription pharmaceutical product to treat periodontal disease by suppressing the enzymes that destroy the periodontal support tissues. Periostat is marketed to the dental community in the United States by CollaGenex through a professional pharmaceutical sales force.

Currently, the company's salesforce is also marketing VIOXX(R), a Merck & Co. drug that the company promotes for the treatment and relief of acute dental pain and Denavir(R), a SmithKline Beecham product for the treatment of cold sores.

Research has shown that the enzyme suppressing technology underlying Periostat may also be applicable to other diseases involving destruction of the body's connective tissues, including cancer metastases (Metastat(R)) and a broad range of inflammatory diseases.

CollaGenex is developing a series of novel, proprietary compounds known as IMPACS(R) (Inhibitors of Multiple Proteases and Cytokines) to address these applications. The company intends to pursue further research and development of this technology primarily through partnerships with third parties.

For additional information on CollaGenex, please visit the company's website at www.collagenex.com, which is not part of this press release.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may affect the company's business and prospects.

The company's business of selling, marketing and developing pharmaceutical products is subject to a number of significant risks, including marketing plans; risks inherent in research and development activities; risks associated with conducting business in a highly regulated environment and uncertainty relating to clinical trials of products under development, all as discussed in the company's periodic filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Periostat(R), Metastat(R)and IMPACS(R)are trademarks of CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CollaGenex(R)and Periostat(R)are trademarks of CollaGenex International Limited. VIOXX(R)is a trademark of Merck & Co., Inc. Denavir(R)is a trademark of SmithKline Beecham, Inc.