Depomed, Inc. Awarded $489,000 in Grants for Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Projects

MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwire - November 02, 2010) - Depomed, Inc. (NASDAQ: DEPO) announced today that it has been awarded two cash grants totaling approximately $489,000 under the U.S. Government’s Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (“QTDP”) program. The QTDP program was part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law in March 2010. The grants received by the Company related to two of the Company’s development programs, Serada for the treatment menopausal hot flashes and DM-1992 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Under the QTDP program, a total of $1 billion in grants or tax credits was made available to companies with 250 employees or fewer and covers up to 50 percent of qualified investments in projects aimed at creating new therapies, reducing long-term health care costs, or significantly advancing the goal of curing cancer within the next 30 years, subject to a maximum of $5 million per applicant. The individual awards of approximately $245,000 per project, represents a pro-rata reduction applied to all applicants, as the QTDP program was significantly oversubscribed. Both applications submitted by the Company received an award.

“We are grateful to the federal government for its support of innovation in healthcare and its recognition of the unmet clinical need in the therapeutic areas that both our Serada and Parkinson’s programs address,” said Carl A. Pelzel, president and chief executive officer of Depomed.

About Depomed

Depomed, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company with one product candidate through Phase 3 clinical development, another in Phase 3 clinical development, two approved products on the market and other product candidates in its early stage pipeline. Product candidate DM-1796 has completed Phase 3 clinical development and has been licensed to Abbott Products Inc. A New Drug Application for DM-1796 was accepted by the FDA in the second quarter of 2010. Product candidate Serada® is in Phase 3 clinical development for menopausal hot flashes. GLUMETZA® (metformin hydrochloride extended release tablets) is approved for use in adults with type 2 diabetes and promoted by Santarus, Inc. in the United States. Depomed formulates its products and product candidates with its proven, proprietary Acuform® drug delivery technology, which is designed to improve existing oral medications, allowing for extended, controlled release of medications to the upper gastrointestinal tract. Benefits of Acuform-enhanced pharmaceuticals include the convenience of once-daily administration, improved treatment tolerability and enhanced compliance and efficacy. Additional information about Depomed may be found on its website, http://www.depomed.com.

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