Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Completes Merger with Nov...( SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO Calif. and PT...),Health

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and PT. RICHMOND, Calif., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSPT) today announced the completion of its merger with Novacea, Inc. Upon the closing of the merger transaction, Novacea changed its name to "Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc." and its NASDAQ ticker symbol to "TSPT." Transcept is expected to begin trading today on the NASDAQ Global Market under the new symbol. The merger creates a late-stage, publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary products that address important therapeutic needs in the fields of psychiatry and sleep medicine.

Glenn A. Oclassen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transcept, stated, "The combined company resources that result from this merger are expected to enable us to carry out our plans to successfully commercialize our lead product candidate, Intermezzo(R), which, if approved, is positioned to be the first commercially available sleep aid specifically for use in the middle of the night when patients awaken and have difficulty returning to sleep. The Intermezzo(R) New Drug Application was filed with the FDA on September 30, 2008 and the Agency has provided a July 30, 2009 PDUFA date."

At the special meeting of Novacea stockholders held on January 27, 2009, shareholders approved all of the merger-related proposals, including: (i) the issuance of shares of Novacea common stock and resulting change in control of Novacea such that Transcept stockholders own approximately 60% of Novacea common stock on a fully-diluted basis, (ii) effecting a one-for-five reverse stock split of Novacea common stock, and (iii) changing the name "Novacea, Inc." to "Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc." After the merger and reverse stock split, the total number of
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