NexMed presents data on NexACT technology use to improve less permeable, soluable oral drugs

Apricus Biosciences, Inc. today announced that its research and development team at its NexMed, USA, Inc. subsidiary is presenting data demonstrating the use of the Company's proprietary NexACT^® technology to improve less permeable or less soluable drugs, at the Controlled Release Society ("CRS") Product Development Forum for Poorly Soluble Drugs, being held January 27 to 29, 2011, in Miami, Florida. The presentation, entitled, "Improved Oral Absorption of BCS 2-4 Compounds Using the NexACT^® Technology" is scheduled to be presented by Richard Martin, Ph.D., Vice President, Chemistry at NexMed, USA on Thursday, January 27, 2011 from 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm EST and also on Friday January 28, 2011 from 10:50 am to 2:15 pm EST.

The BCS, developed by Professor Gordon L. Amidon from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan, separates drugs into four quadrants depending on their solubility and permeability. Class 1 drugs are high solubility and high permeability, Class 2 low solubility and high permeability, Class 3 high solubility and low permeability, and Class 4 low solubility and low permeability. In the NexMed studies, the compounds that showed the most improvement when formulated with the NexACT^® technology was in Classes 2 and 4, where solubility is a determining factor.

Dr. Bassam Damaj, Apricus Bio's Chief Executive Officer commented on these results, "We are very pleased with the research and development efforts of our NexMed, USA team. This data demonstrates to us that the NexACT^® technology may be used to enhance the oral bioavailability of some of the less permeable and less soluble drugs on the market today. We believe this is another application for our NexACT^® technology, which could be used by us with any of our future proprietary drug candidates, or it may be applied to a broader range of generic drugs and proprietary drugs owned by others. These results continue to validate our strategy of evaluating our NexACT^® technology for additional indications beyond improving the topical delivery of products and to also offer partners the ability to potentially improve the convenience and bioavailability of their oral drugs."