EpiCept Provides Update on Its 2011 Financing Plan

EpiCept Provides Update on Its 2011 Financing Plan

GRANTED FUNDING THROUGH U.S. QUALIFYING THERAPEUTIC DISCOVERY PROJECT
PROGRAM

TARRYTOWN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE (http://www.businesswire.com/))--
Regulatory News:

EpiCept Corporation (Nasdaq and Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange: EPCT)
today provided an update on its efforts to finance the Company's
operations beyond 2010. The key element of the Company's plan is a
non-equity financing transaction that, if completed, will support its
operations through at least year end 2011. The Company has engaged Cowen
and Company, LLC as exclusive financing advisor and placement agent with
respect to the transaction.

“We believe that a financing secured with the Company's intellectual
property or other assets is our most attractive path towards meeting our
cash needs,” stated Jack Talley, EpiCept's President and CEO. “We are
very excited about this opportunity to secure funding for more than a
year of operations. The transaction will allow us to focus more intently
on progressing the Company's important business goals with respect to
advancing Ceplene® in the United States.”

The Company anticipates that the transaction, which is subject to
completion of due diligence and execution of mutually-satisfactory
documentation, will close before year end, but should the transaction
not close or the proceeds be less than anticipated the Company may
determine to seek additional or alternative sources or types of
financing.

EpiCept also announced today that it has been granted approximately
$735,000 under the U.S. Government's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery
Project Program. This grant was provided under a new section of the
Internal Revenue Code that was enacted as part of the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The program, which provides for grants
and tax credits, is intended to benefit discovery projects that show a
reasonable potential to result in new therapies to treat areas of unmet
medical need, or detect or treat chronic or acute diseases and
conditions; reduce long-term growth of health care costs in the United
States; or significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within 30
years. The grant money is expected to become available by mid-November.

About EpiCept Corporation

EpiCept is focused on the development and commercialization of
pharmaceutical products for the treatment of cancer and pain. The
Company's lead product is Ceplene®, which has been granted full
marketing authorization by the European Commission for the remission
maintenance and prevention of relapse in adult patients with Acute
Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission. The Company has two oncology
drug candidates currently in clinical development that were discovered
using in-house technology and have been shown to act as vascular
disruption agents in a variety of solid tumors. The Company's pain
portfolio includes EpiCept™ NP-1, a prescription topical analgesic cream
in late-stage clinical development designed to provide effective
long-term relief of pain associated with peripheral neuropathies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release and any oral statements made with respect to the
information contained in this news release contain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements
which express plans, anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets,
future development and are otherwise not statements of historical fact.
These statements are based on our current expectations and are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or
developments to be materially different from historical results or from
any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Factors that may cause actual results or developments to
differ materially include: the risk that the financing will not
successfully close or that the proceeds thereof will be materially less
than anticipated, the risks associated with the adequacy of our existing
cash resources and our ability to continue as a going concern, the risks
associated with our ability to continue to meet our obligations under
our existing debt agreements, the risk that Ceplene® will not receive
regulatory approval or marketing authorization in the United States or
Canada, the risk that Ceplene® will not achieve significant commercial
success, the risk that any required post-approval clinical study for
Ceplene® will not be successful, the risk that we will not be able to
maintain our final regulatory approval or marketing authorization for
Ceplene®, the risk that Azixa™ will not receive regulatory approval or
achieve significant commercial success, the risk that we will not
receive any significant payments under our agreement with Myrexis, the
risk that the development of our other apoptosis product candidates will
not be successful, the risk that clinical trials for EpiCeptTM NP-1 or
crolibulinTM will not be successful, the risk that EpiCept™ NP-1 or
crolibulinTM will not receive regulatory approval or achieve significant
commercial success, the risk that we will not be able to find a partner
to help conduct the Phase III trials for EpiCept™ NP-1 on attractive
terms, a timely basis or at all, the risk that our other product
candidates that appeared promising in early research and clinical trials
do not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in larger-scale or later stage
clinical trials, the risk that we will not obtain approval to market any
of our product candidates, the risks associated with dependence upon key
personnel, the risks associated with reliance on collaborative partners
and others for further clinical trials, development, manufacturing and
commercialization of our product candidates; the cost, delays and
uncertainties associated with our scientific research, product
development, clinical trials and regulatory approval process; our
history of operating losses since our inception; the highly competitive
nature of our business; risks associated with litigation; the risk that
our securities may be delisted from Nasdaq; and risks associated with
our ability to protect our intellectual property. These factors and
other material risks are more fully discussed in our periodic reports,
including our reports on Forms 8-K, 10-Q and 10-K and other filings with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You are urged to carefully
review and consider the disclosures found in our filings which are
available at
www.sec.gov (http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%
2F%2Fus.lrd.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAgfqFPfVOEK5M4_Rv8aJvhTjba9_%3B_ylu%3DX3o
DMTEzM2pvaWgxBHBvcwMyBHNlYwNuZXdzYXJ0Ym9keQRzbGsDd3d3c2VjZ292%2FSIG%3D15
t064n6f%2F**http%253A%2Fcts.businesswire.com%2Fct%2FCT%253Fid%3Dsmartlin
k%2526url%3Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.sec.gov%2526esheet%3D6170045%25
26lan%3Den_US%2526anchor%3Dwww.sec.gov%2526index%3D2%2526md5%3D61ec7b720
44301e411e3335754ee5c07&esheet=6499326&lan=en-US&anchor=www.sec.gov&inde
x=1&md5=181f71f36e817cfb56c370de43d646d1) or at
www.epicept.com (http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http
%3A%2F%2Fus.lrd.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAhBuoawHw6iS3RhJOH9dNNfjba9_%3B_ylu%3
DX3oDMTE2OGhhcWs4BHBvcwMzBHNlYwNuZXdzYXJ0Ym9keQRzbGsDd3d3ZXBpY2VwdGNv%2F
SIG%3D1659oglun%2F**http%253A%2Fcts.businesswire.com%2Fct%2FCT%253Fid%3D
smartlink%2526url%3Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.epicept.com%2526esheet%
3D6170045%2526lan%3Den_US%2526anchor%3Dwww.epicept.com%2526index%3D3%252
6md5%3D8b3a48c3367e26fcfbd15295b6d82118&esheet=6499326&lan=en-US&anchor=
www.epicept.com&index=2&md5=5243e8e1c2a197040ad81ef3eed7ae74). You are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements,
any of which could turn out to be wrong due to inaccurate assumptions,
unknown risks or uncertainties or other risk factors.

*Azixa is a registered trademark of Myrexis, Inc.

EPCT-GEN

EpiCept Corporation:
Robert W. Cook, 914-606-3500
rcook@epicept.com (rcook@epicept.com)
or
Media:
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
Greg Kelley, 617-577-8110
gregory.kelley@fkhealth.com (gregory.kelley@fkhealth.com)
or
Investors:
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates
Kim Sutton Golodetz, 212-838-3777
kgolodetz@lhai.com (kgolodetz@lhai.com)
or
Bruce Voss, 310-691-7100
bvoss@lhai.com (bvoss@lhai.com)