Icagen Announces Formation of Drug Discovery and Development Expert Panel.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Icagen, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICGN) announced today the formation of a drug discovery and development expert panel with the initial appointment of two distinguished pharmaceutical industry executives. Icagen's drug discovery and development expert panel, which will include individuals from both the pharmaceutical industry and academia, is being formed in order to provide ongoing advice and guidance on key scientific and clinical development issues related to the Company's portfolio of drug discovery and development programs. In addition to the Company's program in sickle cell disease, these programs include ion channel-focused efforts in epilepsy, neuropathic pain, inflammation and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The initial members of this panel from the pharmaceutical industry are Christopher Cimarusti, Ph.D. and Ian Skidmore, Ph.D. The Company expects to announce the appointment of additional members to its drug discovery and development expert panel over the next several weeks.

Dr. Cimarusti worked for over thirty-five years at Squibb and Bristol-Myers Squibb, or BMS, in a variety of senior management positions across a broad range of functional areas, including medicinal and process chemistry, pharmaceutical development and project management. His responsibilities while at BMS included overall management of the BMS exploratory development portfolio. He is the author of over sixty patents in the areas of cardiovascular, steroid and beta-lactam research, including both compound and process patents. Dr. Cimarusti received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Providence College and his doctorate degree in organic chemistry from Purdue University, and performed his post-doctoral research at Columbia University.

Dr. Skidmore worked for approximately thirty years at Glaxo in several senior management positions spanning a number of disciplines. Among other responsibilities, he served as chairman of the worldwide exploratory development committee, with responsibility for exploratory development across all therapeutic areas, spanning preclinical development through Phase IIa. He is a joint holder of patents on Salmeterol[R] and related molecules as long acting bronchodilators for the treatment of asthma, and led the Epivir[R] and Combivir[R] project teams. Dr. Skidmore received both his bachelor's and doctorate degrees in biochemistry from the University of Oxford.

Mark Suto, Ph.D., Vice President of Chemistry, stated, "We are delighted to announce the formation of our drug discovery and development expert panel with these two distinguished leaders from the industry, each of whom brings a unique area of expertise. In addition, over the next several weeks we intend to further expand the expertise of our expert panel with the addition of new members, as we seek to tap into expertise across the spectrum of drug development issues. We anticipate that this group will be actively involved in the ongoing evaluation, analysis and decision-making with regard to all of our drug discovery and development programs and will bring a valuable new perspective to our research and development efforts. We look forward to working with each of the members of our expert panel as we continue to advance our mission of discovering and developing novel ion channel-based pharmaceuticals."

About Icagen

Icagen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel orally-administered small molecule drugs that modulate ion channel targets. Utilizing its proprietary know-how and integrated scientific and drug development capabilities, Icagen has identified multiple drug candidates that modulate ion channels. The Company's four most advanced programs are:

- senicapoc for sickle cell disease, future options for the development of which the Company is evaluating subsequent to the recent termination of the Phase III ASSERT trial;

- lead compounds for epilepsy and neuropathic pain, for which the Company is conducting preclinical studies;

- a lead compound for atrial fibrillation, for which the Company's collaborator Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is conducting preclinical studies; and

- lead compounds for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, for which the Company's collaborator Astellas Pharma Inc. is conducting preclinical studies, and lead compounds for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which were derived from the collaboration and for which the Company is conducting preclinical studies.

Icagen is also conducting ongoing drug discovery programs focused on new therapeutics for pain and inflammatory disorders.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described in these forward-looking statements are set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 6, 2007. These risk factors include risks as to the Company's ability to raise additional funding; the Company's ability to maintain compliance with NASDAQ's continued listing requirements; the Company's history of net losses and how long the Company will be able to operate on its existing capital resources; whether the Company's products will advance in the clinical trials process; the timing of such clinical trials; whether the results obtained in preliminary studies will be indicative of results obtained in clinical trials; whether the clinical trial results will warrant continued product development; whether and when, if at all, the Company's products will receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent regulatory agencies, and for which indications, and if such products receive approval, whether they will be successfully marketed; and the Company's dependence on third parties, including manufacturers, suppliers and collaborators, including McNeil, the Company's collaborator for its sickle cell disease program. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.