PLAN-LES-OUATES GENEVA, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwire - April 13, 2012) -

Addex Therapeutics / Addex Takes Steps to Rightsize Operations and Position the Company for Future Success

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Addex Therapeutics (SIX: ADXN), a leading organization pioneering allosteric modulation-based oral small molecule drug discovery and development, announced today that it has started initiating organizational changes to improve operational efficiency, reduce cost of capital and drive long-term success. Addex will continue to pursue its strategy of building shareholder value through developing its robust in-house pipeline of novel oral small molecule drug candidates through clinical proof of concept and pursuing high value partnerships with larger organizations that are able to offer significant development and marketing capabilities.

Addex recently announced positive top-line results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of its proprietary dipraglurant product in patients with Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia. In addition, Addex' ADX71149 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2a clinical trial by its partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. to treat schizophrenia.

Following a careful review of Addex operations over the past several months and industry trends, the management and the board of directors have decided that, in order to ensure the most efficient use of its capital and resources to execute on its robust pipeline and new product opportunities, Addex plans to reduce the size of its operations in Geneva. The changes will ensure that Addex will retain its core competencies and leadership position in allosteric modulator-based discovery and development in-house while accessing non-core activities from external providers.

As part of this new organization, while Addex will move to retain key personnel, the headcount is expected to be reduced by up to 28 people. To this end, a consultation process, required under Swiss law, has been initiated. During the consultation period, which shall last 10 business days, the management will work to determine the specific details of the restructuring. An announcement detailing the new organization and the resulting cost savings will be made thereafter.

"The loss of people's jobs at Addex is something we deeply regret," said Bharatt Chowrira, President & Chief Executive Officer of Addex. "However, we believe it is necessary to improve the operational efficiency and reduce cost structure without harming pipeline execution and innovation. We are implementing these strategic initiatives from a position of strength following our recent positive results in Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia Phase 2 clinical trials. We believe that these measures will position Addex for long-term success and help build significant shareholder value."

Addex is making excellent progress in advancing its proprietary pipeline of novel oral small molecules against a number of validated high-value targets. Near term R&D milestones include:

· The Phase 2a clinical trial data with dipraglurant for the treatment of Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia will be presented in more detail at an international conference later this year; Positive top-line results were announced in March 2012

· Top-line results from the Phase 2a trial with ADX71149 in schizophrenia patients expected in 2H12 from partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals

· IND/CTA filing to initiate clinical trials with GABA-B receptor PAM compound expected in 4Q12

Addex Therapeutics (www.addextherapeutics.com) discovers and develops an emerging class of small molecule drugs, called allosteric modulators, which have the potential to be more specific and confer significant therapeutic advantages over conventional "orthosteric" small molecule or biological drugs. Addex uses its proprietary discovery platform to address receptors and other proteins that are recognized as attractive targets for modulation of important diseases with unmet medical needs. Addex' two lead products are being investigated in Phase 2 clinical testing: dipraglurant (ADX48621, an mGluR5 negative allosteric modulator or NAM) is being developed by Addex to treat Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia (PD-LID); and ADX71149 (mGluR2 positive allosteric modulator or PAM) is being developed by its partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. to treat schizophrenia. Addex also is advancing several preclinical programs including: GABA-BR PAM for pain, overactive bladder and other disorders; mGluR4 PAM for Parkinson's, anxiety and other diseases; GLP1R PAM for type 2 diabetes; mGluR2 NAM for treating Alzheimer's disease and depression; and FSHR/LHR NAM for sex hormone dependent tumors & reproductive system disorders. In addition, Addex has discovery programs to identify allosteric modulators of: receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) superfamily, including TrkB PAM for treating neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases); and TNF receptor superfamily, including TNFR1 NAM for inflammation (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) and other diseases.

Disclaimer: The foregoing release may contain forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "not approvable", "continue", "believes", "believe", "will", "remained open to exploring", "would", "could", or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding Addex Therapeutics, formerly known as, Addex Pharmaceuticals, its business, the potential approval of its products by regulatory authorities, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Addex Therapeutics regarding future events, future economic performance or prospects, and, by their very nature, involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, whether known or unknown, and/or any other factor that may materially differ from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such may in particular cause actual results with allosteric modulators of mGluR2, mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR, FSHR/LHR, GLP1R, TNFR1, RTK, TrkB or other therapeutic targets to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that allosteric modulators of mGluR2, mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR, FSHR/LHR, GLP1R, TNFR1, RTK, TrkB or other therapeutics targets will be approved for sale in any market or by any regulatory authority. Nor can there be any guarantee that allosteric modulators of mGluR2, mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR, FSHR/LHR, GLP1R, TNFR1, RTK, TrkB or other therapeutic targets will achieve any particular levels of revenue (if any) in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding allosteric modulators of mGluR2, mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR, FSHR/LHR, GLP1R, TNFR1, RTK, TrkB or other therapeutic targets could be affected by, among other things, unexpected actions by our partners, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; unexpected clinical trial results, including unexpected new clinical data and unexpected additional analysis of existing clinical data; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; the company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Addex Therapeutics is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable laws.

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