EDISON, N.J. ,October 8, 2003 - ESP Pharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, marketing, and late-stage development of acute-care therapeutics, today announced it has closed a $57 million senior credit facility with a syndicate of lenders. This, in combination with prior Series A and B funding rounds, represents an aggregate $105 million raised by ESP Pharma to implement and enhance the rapid growth momentum the Company has experienced since beginning operations less than 18 months ago.

The $57 million senior credit facility was co-arranged by GE Healthcare Financial Services, a unit of General Electric Corporation (NYSE:GE) and Fleet Securities, Inc., an affiliate of FleetBoston Financial (NYSE:FBF). The credit facility was syndicated to three lenders, led by GE Healthcare Financial Services and including Fleet National Bank and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY).

ESP Pharma, a profitable and cash-flow positive company, said proceeds from this credit facility will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital needs, refinancing higher cost debt and to provide liquidity to facilitate future acquisitions in support of the Company's Buy and Build, Search and Develop strategy. This strategy was first applied by ESP Pharma in May 2002 when the Company acquired US rights to Cardene(R) IV and three other products from Wyeth (NYSE:WYE). Cardene IV, ESP Pharma's lead product, is a patent protected intravenous preparation of nicardipine for hypertension.

In the ensuing months, ESP Pharma established its own hospital sales force, acquired two late-stage product development programs, entered into international business alliances and more recently, in June of this year, acquired from Orphan Medical (NASDAQ:ORPH) worldwide rights to IV Busulfex(R), an acute-care specialty oncology drug approved in the US and several foreign markets.

"Our Company is experiencing remarkable growth," said John T. Spitznagel, ESP Pharma's Chairman and CEO. "In the past 12-months we deployed and essentially doubled the size of our hospital sales force to over 40 reps across the US and Canada. Additionally, annualized sales of Cardene IV have increased approximately fivefold since we acquired the product and revitalized its promotional support."

Andrew J. Einhorn, ESP Pharma's CFO, who was instrumental in obtaining this financing, added "The closing of this credit facility places ESP on firm financial footing to accelerate our growth. With our existing product portfolio and 2003 acquisitions, including IV Busulfex, gross 2003 revenues are expected to exceed $60 million, nearly a fourfold increase from $16 million achieved during eight months of operations ended Dec. 31, 2002."

About ESP Pharma, Inc.

ESP Pharma is committed to Excellence in Specialty Pharmaceuticals and is dedicated to helping physicians improve patient outcomes in the acute-care setting. Under the leadership of a highly experienced and strong management team, the Company focuses on its Buy and Build, Search and Develop strategy of identifying opportunities to selectively acquire and enhance the market potential of novel, commercially available therapeutics and late-stage development drugs to fulfill unmet market needs. Opportunities for ESP Pharma to acquire product marketing, manufacturing, and development rights are the result of several factors, including industry consolidation and the fact that many existing and developmental drugs cannot meet the increasing revenue thresholds of large pharmaceutical companies. ESP Pharma, a privately held company, has investment support from leading healthcare venture capital and private equity firms: Domain Associates, LLC (www.domainvc.com), Apax Partners, Inc. (www.apax.com), New Enterprise Associates (www.nea.com), and Thoma Cressey/Equity Partners (www.thomacressey.com). Additional information about ESP Pharma is available on the internet at (www.ESPPharma.com) .

Contacts

Stuart Z. Levine,Ph.D.
Director of Corporate
732-650-1377

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