Announcement
15.12.2011

In September 2011, NeuroSearch A/S (NEUR) announced a focusing of the company's
resources including a discontinuation of the NsDiscovery research division. One
of the projects in NsDiscovery will now be continued within the company Acesion
Pharma ApS under establishment. This project is within a specific type of ion
channels, the so-called SK channels, which – in addition to being potential
targets for CNS diseases – has shown to be present in the heart and to be
relevant for the regulation of the cardiac rhythm. The overall aim is to bring
one of several NeuroSearch compounds into clinical development as a future
treatment of the heart disease atrial fibrillation (AF).

Acesion Pharma is being founded by scientists from NeuroSearch together with
two Danish venture funds, Novo Seeds and SEED Capital Denmark II/DTU Symbion
Innovation A/S, which will jointly finance the further development within
Acesion Pharma. NeuroSearch will not contribute with any financing of this
spin-out, but will give Acesion Pharma option to a licence to a group of
existing NeuroSearch compounds and new compounds, which might be developed
within this patent family. Initially, Acesion Pharma will study the effect of a
particular drug candidate in a clinically relevant model of AF. Should Acesion
Pharma thereafter decide to exercise the option, NeuroSearch will receive an
upfront payment in the form of a minority ownership in Acesion Pharma. Provided
that Acesion Pharma subsequently reaches defined milestones, NeuroSearch will
receive an additional ownership in the company. Furthermore, this agreement
gives NeuroSearch the possibility of receiving milestone payments in cash of up
to a total of EUR 30 million in connection with potential clinical development,
regulatory approval and sale. Finally, NeuroSearch will receive royalties in
connection with future sales.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia and it mainly
hits the elderly population. It is estimated that 5-10% of the population above
the age of 70 are affected by AF. In Denmark, more than 50,000 people suffer
from AF and the number is expected to increase to 150,000 in year 2050, partly
due to the increase in life expectancy and an increase in the prevalence of
overweight and diabetes. Often, AF causes a pronounced decrease in quality of
life and furthermore increases the risk of cerebral thrombosis. Most commonly,
AF is treated with electric shock delivered during general anaesthesia and/or
medical treatment, which brings the heart back to its normal rhythm. It is,
however, recognised that existing drug therapies only have a very limited
effect and produce the risks of serious adverse events. Therefore, there is a
considerable need for developing better and safer drugs for the medical
treatment of AF.

Financial expectations for 2011
NeuroSearch maintains its expectations to the operating result which was
announced in the company's Q3 report.

CEO of NeuroSearch, Patrik Dahlen, states as follows:
"NeuroSearch fully supports the continuation of this project as a spin-out in
Acesion Pharma. In this way, it will be possible to generate value from one of
the research projects which has shown indeed very promising results within a
disease area outside our core business. The investors are NOVO Seeds and SEED
Capital Denmark under DTU Symbion Innovation, among the most well-reputed
venture funds in Europe, which for us is recognition of the research that has
been conducted within this project.”

CEO of Acesion Pharma, Ulrik S. Sørensen, comments:
"The research conducted by a dedicated NeuroSearch research group during many
years has now made it possible to attract investors to further develop the
programme within a separate company. The previously obtained results has made
the group recognised as world leading within the field of SK ion channels, and
in combination with the group's expertise in developing target specific drugs
it forms the basis for changing focus from CNS to the heart disease atrial
fibrillation. We look forward to continuing our work and, together with the
investors Novo Seeds and SEED Capital Denmark under DTU Symbion Innovation, to
verify the potential within this indication and aiming at developing an
efficacious and safe drug."

Patrik Dahlen
CEO

Contact person
Mads P.G. Korsgaard, Manager Investor Relations & Corporate Communications,
telephone: +45 4460 8309


About NeuroSearch
NeuroSearch A/S (NEUR) is a European-based biopharmaceutical company listed on
NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen A/S and specialising in central nervous system (CNS)
disorders. The vision is to develop NeuroSearch into a profitable specialty
pharmaceutical company. The strategy is primarily to complete the development
and subsequently to market Huntexil®, a unique drug in clinical Phase III for
the treatment of the motor symptoms of Huntington’s disease.
Among discontinuing activities, NeuroSearch also has a portfolio of assets for
outlicensing or divestment. This includes tesofensine which has shown
outstanding efficacy in the treatment of obesity, the Integrative Screening
Process (ISP), which is a proprietary systems biology approach, as well as a
broad range of ion channel technologies and patented compounds identified as
ion channel modulators.

About Acesion Pharma
Acesion Pharma ApS is a Danish biotech company (under establishment) with the
aim of developing more efficacious and safer dugs for the medical treatment of
the heart disease atrial fibrillation (AF). The company is being founded
jointly by the venture funds Novo Seeds and SEED Capital Denmark II/DTU Symbion
Innovation and research scientists from NeuroSearch A/S. It is based on
research results and IP developed within NeuroSearch A/S.

Fonds.29-11 - Acesion spin-out - uk.pdf