Novartis Pharma agrees to further extend maturity date of Emisphere Technologies' Convertible Promissory Note

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (OTC BB: EMIS), a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on a unique and improved delivery of pharmaceutical compounds and nutritional supplements using its Eligen^® Technology, today announced that Novartis Pharma AG has agreed to further extend the maturity date of Emisphere’s Convertible Promissory Note (the “Note”) to May 26, 2010. The $10 million original principal amount Note, plus interest accrued to date, was originally issued to Novartis on December 1, 2004 in connection with the Research Collaboration and Option License Agreement between the parties of that date and was originally due on December 1, 2009.