Savient Pharmaceuticals Requests Additional Extension from NASDAQ to File Amended Financial Reports; Amended 10-K Nearly Complete and under Final Review by Independent Auditor.

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Restatement Expected to Positively Affect Revenues and Earnings in 2004 and the First Half of 2005

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SVNTE), an emerging specialty pharmaceuticals company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing novel therapeutic products for unmet medical needs, announced today that it has requested that the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel (the Panel) extend until January 19, 2006 the date by which the Company must file an amendment to its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, including 2003, 2002 and 2001 prior period restatements, and extend until January 26, 2006 the date by which the Company must file an amendment to its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, as well as its initial Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2005 and September 30, 2005 in order to continue listing of the Company's securities on The Nasdaq National Market.

The Company noted that it has nearly completed work on its amended Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, which includes the prior period restatements. Savient expects that its work on the amendment to its March 31, 2005 Form 10-Q and on its initial Forms 10-Q for the periods ended June 30, 2005 and September 30, 2005 will be complete shortly after the filing of the amended Form 10-K. The Company intends that each of these required reports will be filed on or before January 26, 2006.

Savient has requested this additional extension because the Company needs to perform additional procedures to update all activities since the initial Annual Report on Form 10-K was filed on March 31, 2005, including updating its assessment of its internal controls over financial reporting.

Savient expects that, once completed, the restatements will positively affect revenues and earnings in 2004 and the first half of 2005.

Christopher Clement, President and Chief Executive Officer of Savient, stated, "With all of the internal restatement work complete, we intend to file the restated financials as soon as possible, with our third quarter Form 10-Q to follow quickly. Once we have filed the restatements, we hope for a speedy determination of compliance by the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Hearings Department."

If the Panel denies Savient's request for an extension, the Company expects that its securities would be delisted from The Nasdaq National Market.

As previously announced, the filings that Savient intends to make on or before January 19 and January 26, 2006 will contain restatements of its financial statements for the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 fiscal years and the first quarter of 2005 that are primarily the result of errors made in connection with estimating product return and inventory reserves related to sales of the Company's products. The filings will also include certain restatements and adjustments to rebate allowances related to contracts with Medicaid and other government agencies. Additionally, the amended filings will include a correction of the Company's accounting for negative goodwill in connection with the 2001 acquisition of Myelos Corporation

Previously, the Panel agreed to continue the listing of the Company's securities on The Nasdaq National Market provided that the Company files its amended Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, including 2003, 2002 and 2001 prior period restatements, and its amended Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, as well as its initial Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005, by January 13, 2006, and provided that Savient also files by January 20, 2006 its initial Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2005.

About Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Based in East Brunswick, New Jersey, Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is an emerging specialty pharmaceuticals company, is engaged in developing, manufacturing, and marketing pharmaceutical products that address unmet medical needs in both niche and broader markets. The Company's product development candidate, Puricase(R), for the treatment of refractory gout has reported positive Phase 1 and 2 clinical data. Savient's experienced management team is committed to advancing its pipeline and expanding its product portfolio by in-licensing late stage compounds and exploring co-promotion and co-development opportunities that fit the Company's expertise in specialty pharmaceuticals and initial focus in rheumatology. Savient markets its product Oxandrin(R) (oxandrolone, USP) in the United States. The Company's subsidiary, Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Limited, develops, manufactures, and markets through its own sales force oral liquid formulations of prescription products for the UK pharmaceutical market. Rosemont's product portfolio includes over 90 liquid formulations primarily targeting the geriatric population. Savient's product Mircette(R), an oral contraceptive, is marketed by its licensee, Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Puricase is a registered trademark of Mountain View Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Savient's news releases and other information are available on the Company's website at www.savientpharma.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this report regarding the Company's strategy, expected future financial position, discovery and development of products, strategic alliances, competitive position, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "will" and other similar expressions help identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. In particular, the statements regarding the possible continued listing of the Company's common stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market, the timing of the filing of the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended June 30, 2005 and September 30, 2005, and the timing of the filing of restated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2004, including 2003, 2002 and 2001 prior period restatements, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company's business and the biopharmaceutical and specialty pharmaceutical industries in which the Company operates. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, delay or failure in developing Puricase and other product candidates; difficulties of expanding the Company's product portfolio through in-licensing; introduction of generic competition for Oxandrin; fluctuations in buying patterns of wholesalers; potential future returns of Oxandrin or other products; our continuing to incur substantial net losses for the foreseeable future; difficulties in obtaining financing; potential development of alternative technologies or more effective products by competitors; reliance on third-parties to manufacture, market and distribute many of the Company's products; economic, political and other risks associated with foreign operations; risks of maintaining protection for the Company's intellectual property; risks of an adverse determination in on-going or future intellectual property litigation; and risks associated with stringent government regulation of the biopharmaceutical and specialty pharmaceutical industries. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in its forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that the Company makes. The Company's forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments that the Company may make. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.