Acura Pharmaceuticals to Present at the 2011 Stifel Nicolaus Healthcare Conference

PALATINE, IL--(Marketwire - Sep 7, 2011) - Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACUR), a specialty pharmaceuticals company innovating abuse deterrent drugs, today announced the Company will participate in the 2011 Stifel Nicolaus Healthcare Conference at The Four Seasons Boston. Management is scheduled to present an overview of the Company on Friday, September 9, 2011 at 9:10 AM ET.

Acura's first product, OXECTA, was approved by the FDA in June 2011. The drug is partnered with Pfizer and is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year. OXECTA is the first medicine approved utilizing Acura's AVERSION technology designed to discourage common methods of tampering associated with opioid abuse and misuse.

OXECTA contains ingredients that are designed to frustrate potential drug abusers by discouraging common methods of abuse, such as crushing, injecting or dissolving tablets to get a quick high. For example, the pill contains polymers that cause the drug to gel when dissolved to create a solution for injection. It also contains compounds that irritate the nose to discourage crushing and snorting.

Opioid medications are an important treatment option for patients with moderate to severe pain who are not adequately managed by other pain treatments. However, abuse and misuse of opioids is a serious public health and safety issue that is the focus of a number of recent United States government initiatives.

During the Stifel conference presentation, material information concerning the Company, its operations, strategies and prospects may be discussed. To listen to the audio webcast and view the slides of the presentation during the event, please visit: http://acurapharm.com/investors/presentations-webcasts. A replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days.

About Acura Pharmaceuticals
Acura Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of product candidates intended to deter medication abuse and misuse, utilizing its proprietary AVERSION and IMPEDE technologies. Acura has a pipeline of additional products in development using its AVERSION technology for other opioids and its IMPEDE technology for pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.