SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Share Repurchase Program and Reaffirms 2011 Guidance

FOSTER CITY, CA--(Marketwire - October 04, 2011) - SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program that authorizes the company to repurchase up to $20 million of its outstanding common stock over the next 24 months. In addition, SciClone reaffirmed its previously announced 2011 financial guidance with the understanding that any cash used to repurchase shares may decrease the year-end cash balance and that a reduction in shares outstanding may increase fourth quarter and full year earnings per share.

“The share repurchase program demonstrates our confidence in the Company’s strategic plan and our commitment to delivering shareholder value,” commented Friedhelm Blobel, Ph.D., SciClone’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We remain focused on executing our strategy of creating a market-leading specialty pharmaceutical company in China. With our expanded product portfolio and sales and marketing capabilities through our recent NovaMed acquisition, we believe we are well-positioned for long-term growth.”

Under the program, purchases may be made from time to time in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, at times and in amounts as the Company deems appropriate. The number of shares to be purchased and the timing of any purchases may be subject to various factors, which may include the price of the common stock, general market conditions, corporate and regulatory requirements, including restrictions in the Company’s debt covenants, and alternate investment opportunities. The share repurchase program may be modified or discontinued at any time.

Financial Outlook Update
SciClone is also reaffirming its previous guidance that it expects its 2011 GAAP revenue to be between $133 and $138 million (which excludes NovaMed’s revenue prior to the closing of the acquisition on April 18, 2011). The Company is also reaffirming its guidance that its non-GAAP earnings per share for 2011 (which excludes charges and write offs related to the acquisition of NovaMed and employee stock-based compensation), is expected to be between $0.52 and $0.57 per share. Cash, cash equivalents, and short and long term investments are expected to be greater than $55 million at the end of 2011. Any impact of the stock repurchase program (e.g. use of cash and reduced number of shares of common stock outstanding) is not included in these numbers.

About SciClone
SciClone Pharmaceuticals is a revenue-generating, profitable, specialty pharmaceutical company with a substantial commercial business in China and a product portfolio of therapies for oncology, infectious diseases and cardiovascular, urological, respiratory, and central nervous system disorders. SciClone’s ZADAXIN® (thymalfasin) is approved in over 30 countries and may be used for the treatment of hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), as a vaccine adjuvant, and certain cancers according to the local regulatory approvals. Besides ZADAXIN, SciClone markets nearly 20 mostly partnered products in China, including Depakine®, the most widely prescribed broad-spectrum anti-convulsant in China; Tritace®, an ACE inhibitor for the treatment of hypertension; Stilnox®, a fast-acting hypnotic for the short-term treatment of insomnia (marketed as Ambien® in the US); and Aggrastat®, a recently-launched interventional cardiology product. SciClone is also developing SCV-07 in a phase 2b trial for the delay to onset of oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer. SciClone is also pursuing the registration of several other therapeutic products in China. SciClone is headquartered in Foster City, California. For additional information, please visit www.sciclone.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding expected financial results and expectations. Readers are urged to consider statements that include the words “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “might,” “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “continues,” “forecast,” “designed,” “goal,” “unaudited,” “approximately” or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and actual outcomes may differ materially. These include risk and uncertainties relating to: the course, cost and outcome of regulatory matters, including pricing decisions by authorities in China; the ongoing regulatory investigations and SciClone’s independent investigation; the Company’s ability to execute on its goals in China and on its objectives for revenue in fiscal 2011; the challenges presented by integrating an acquired business into existing operations; the variability in earnings on a GAAP basis that may result from non-cash charges related to the NovaMed acquisition; the dependence on third party license, promotion or distribution agreements including the need to renew such agreements; operating an international business; the clinical trial process, including the regulatory approval and the process of initiating trials at, and enrolling patients at, clinical sites; the Company’s ability to remediate its identified material weaknesses over internal controls; and changes in its practices and policies which could adversely affect its ability to generate revenue. SciClone cannot predict the timing or outcome of the SEC and DOJ investigations, of the various litigations that have or may be filed relating to any of those matters, or of its efforts to cooperate with those investigations; however the Company expects to incur substantial expenses in connection with the investigations and the results of the investigations could include fines and further changes in its internal control or other remediation measures that could adversely affect its business. Please also refer to other risks and uncertainties described in SciClone’s filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to SciClone and SciClone assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Ambien, Depakine, Stilnox and Tritace are registered trademarks of Sanofi.

Aggrastat is a registered trademark of Merck & Co., Inc.