Cypress Bioscience Announces Formation of Psychopharmacology Advisory Board for Fibromyalgia.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 2001

Cypress Bioscience Inc. (Nasdaq:CYPB) Thursday announced the formation of a Psychopharmacology Advisory Board to support the company's strategic initiative into the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), begun in January 2001.

The advisory board is made up of world-class experts in psychiatry, psychopharmacology and the pathophysiology of mood disorders. This advisory board will work in coordination with Cypress' newly formed Fibromyalgia Advisory Board, with expertise in rheumatology, toward a multidisciplinary approach to FMS diagnosis and treatment. The company has begun a program directed at the development or acquisition of drug candidates for the treatment of FMS. The Psychopharmacology Advisory Board will assist Cypress in selecting and evaluating the potential effectiveness of drug candidates and designing clinical trials for these compounds.

FMS is estimated to affect 2-4 percent of the population with annual per patient costs totaling billions of dollars. Current treatment options are limited as there are no drugs specifically approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of FMS. The symptoms of FMS are severely debilitating and are characterized by chronic and widespread pain and stiffness throughout the body accompanied by severe fatigue, poor sleep and headaches. Patients with FMS have at least comparable disability, more pain and lower quality of life than patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

"FMS patients are often treated with drugs that act on the central nervous system. Historically, psychiatrists and psychopharmacologist have the most familiarity with these drugs. By bringing together the two Advisory Boards, we gain the knowledge and experience of experts who are skilled in FMS and specialists with know-how in the mechanisms of drugs that are currently used to treat this disorder," said Jay D. Kranzler, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Cypress. "As a result, we believe we will increase our prospects of developing innovative products that improve treatment outcomes for FMS patients."

Members of the Cypress Psychopharmacology Board include Charles Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D., of Emory University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science; Martin Keller, M.D., of Brown University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior; Stephen Stahl, M.D., Ph.D., of University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry; Charles Reynolds, M.D., of University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry; David Dunner, M.D., of University of Washington, Department of Psychiatry; Lorrin Koran, M.D., of Stanford Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science; Jan Fawcett, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.R., of the Rush University, Department of Psychiatry; and K. Ranga Rama Krishnan, MBBS, of Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

About Cypress Bioscience Inc.

Cypress is committed to be the innovator and commercial leader in providing products that improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with FMS. The company is also the developer of the PROSORBA(R) column, an approved therapeutic medical device which is used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Fresenius HemoCare Inc. is solely responsible for on-going clinical trials, regulatory support, sales and marketing of the PROSORBA column. For more information about Cypress, visit the company's Web site at www.cypressbio.com.

This press release, as well as Cypress' SEC filings and Web site at http://www.cypressbio.com, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could vary materially from those described as a result of a number of factors, including those set forth in Cypress Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent SEC filings. In addition, there is the risk that Cypress may not be able to successfully develop or market any products for the treatment for FMS; or be successful in establishing collaborative arrangements to obtain access to specific development candidates or products for FMS; or that the advisory boards may not increase Cypress' prospects of developing innovative products that improve treatment outcomes for FMS patients; and that Fresenius HemoCare may not successfully market the PROSORBA column. Cypress undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by law.