Cephalon, Inc. Announces Agreement to Acquire Mepha AG

FRAZER, Philadelphia, AESCH, Switzerland and MAISONS ALFORT, France,
February 1 (ots/PRNewswire) -- Cephalon, Inc. announced today that it
has signed an agreement to acquire Mepha AG and its subsidiaries, a
profitable, privately-held, Swiss-based pharmaceutical company. Mepha
has specific expertise in innovative dosage formulations and markets
both generic and branded generic products. The acquisition
diversifies the company's business mix, doubles the size of its
international business, and provides an attractive platform to launch
current and future products in new, developed and emerging markets.

Mepha manufactures and markets over 120 products in 50 countries
and recognized sales of approximately CHF 400 million in 2009. With
its exposure to high-growth international markets, and a track record
of innovation, Mepha has achieved compound annual growth rates (CAGR)
in sales of more than 13 percent over the last five years. In
addition to its existing products, Mepha has a broad pipeline of
approximately 50 chemical entities planned for launch over the next
five years.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cephalon will purchase Mepha
AG for CHF 622.5 million, or an estimated $590 million USD, from the
Merckle family-owned Mepha Holding AG, subject to adjustments upon
closing. The transaction is expected to close in the next 10-12 weeks
upon completion of certain closing conditions, including receipt of
applicable antitrust approvals. Cephalon expects that the acquisition
will be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2010 and will
update its 2010 guidance when it reports full year 2009 financial
results on February 11, 2010. In the interim, the company withdraws
its full year 2010 guidance issued on October 27, 2009.

"The addition of Mepha will transform our international business
overnight, expanding our ability to serve global markets and reach
patients in new territories for the first time," said Frank Baldino,
Jr., Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Cephalon. "With this deal, we now
serve all three types of pharmaceutical markets, proprietary branded,
generic and branded generic. We believe this balance will increase
the growth and stability of our business," added Baldino.

Alain Aragues, Executive Vice President and President of Cephalon
Europe, said, "The acquisition of Mepha will help us to significantly
grow our current business and positions us as a more attractive
partner for further business development opportunities in the
European, Middle East and African regions."

Dr. Thomas Villiger, CEO of Mepha Group, added, "Mepha and
Cephalon complement each other as far as markets and products are
concerned. Mepha's leading position on the Swiss market will be
immediately enhanced by the addition of innovative therapies from
Cephalon."

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as exclusive financial
advisor to Cephalon.

Cephalon will host a conference call for investors and analysts
on February 1, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the
transaction. A slide presentation will be available on the company
website at
http://investors.cephalon.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=81709&p=irol-irhome

February 1, 2010, Schedule
8:10 a.m. EST Company presentation will be made available.
8:50 a.m. EST Conference line opens. To participate in the conference
call, dial 913-312-0408 and refer to Conference Code
Number 1894492.
9:00 a.m. EST Conference call begins promptly.
Simultaneous Webcast

Investors can listen to the call live by logging on to the
company's website at http://www.cephalon.com and clicking on
"Investor Information," then "Webcast." Please click on the link and
follow the prompts for registration and access.

If you are unable to listen to the live broadcast, an audio or
webcast replay of the call will be available approximately two hours
after the event until Midnight EST, February 8, 2010. To listen to
the audio replay, dial +1-719-457-0820 and use the Conference Code
Number 1894492.

Additional information presented on the conference call may be
made available on the Investor Information page of the company's
website.

About Mepha AG

Founded in 1949, Mepha is a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company
marketing branded and non-branded generics as well as specialty
products in more than 50 countries. Mepha develops and manufactures
its products in Aesch/Basel - Switzerland with a strong focus on
Swiss-quality standards. Mepha's R & D focuses on the development of
improved and innovative generics providing additional benefits for
patients. Furthermore, Mepha is active in malaria research offering
innovative life-saving therapies for adults and children.

Mepha is the leading company on the Swiss generic market, with
more than 120 products in over 500 packaging forms and also providing
unique services to healthcare professionals and patients. Mepha has
operational subsidiaries in Portugal and the Baltics. Through
partnerships, Mepha markets its products in other European countries,
in the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America as well as in
Asia. Mepha employs approximately 1,000 people worldwide, 500 of them
in Switzerland. For more information on Mepha, visit their website at
http://www.mepha.com.

About Cephalon, Inc.

Cephalon is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated
to discovering, developing and bringing to market medications for
difficult to treat and rare conditions. Since its inception in 1987,
Cephalon has brought first-in-class and best-in-class medicines to
patients around the world in several therapeutic areas. Cephalon has
the distinction of being one of the world's fastest-growing
biopharmaceutical companies, now among the Fortune 1000 and a member
of the S&P 500 Index, employing approximately 3,000 people worldwide.

Cephalon has a growing presence in Europe, the Middle East and
Africa. The Cephalon European headquarters and pre-clinical
development center are located in Maisons-Alfort, France, just
outside of Paris. Operational subsidiaries are located in the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands (which covers
the entire Benelux region), and Poland (which covers Eastern Europe
and Scandinavia). Cephalon Europe markets more than 30 products in 50
countries in four therapeutic areas: central nervous system, pain,
primary care and oncology.

The company's proprietary products in the United States include:
NUVIGIL(R) (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV], TREANDA(R) (bendamustine
hydrochloride) for Injection, AMRIX(R) (cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride
extended-release capsules), FENTORA(R) (fentanyl buccal tablet)
[C-II], TRISENOX(R) (arsenic trioxide) injection, GABITRIL(R)
(tiagabine hydrochloride), PROVIGIL(R) (modafinil) Tablets [C-IV] and
ACTIQ(R) (oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate) [C-II]. The company
also markets numerous products internationally. Full prescribing
information on its U.S. products is available at
http://www.cephalon.com or by calling +1-800-896-5855.

In addition to historical facts or statements of current
condition, this press release may contain forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements provide Cephalon's current expectations or
forecasts of future events. These may include statements regarding
the accretive nature of the acquisition of the Mepha Group with
respect to Cephalon's adjusted earnings per share in 2010,
anticipated scientific progress on its research programs, development
of potential pharmaceutical products, interpretation of clinical
results, prospects for regulatory approval, manufacturing development
and capabilities, market prospects for its products, sales and
earnings guidance, and other statements regarding matters that are
not historical facts. You may identify some of these forward-looking
statements by the use of words in the statements such as
"anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan,"
"believe" or other words and terms of similar meaning. Cephalon's
performance and financial results could differ materially from those
reflected in these forward-looking statements due to general
financial, economic, regulatory and political conditions affecting
the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries as well as more
specific risks and uncertainties facing Cephalon such as those set
forth in its reports on Form 8-K, 10-Q and 10-K filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risks and
uncertainties, any or all of these forward-looking statements may
prove to be incorrect. Therefore, you should not rely on any such
factors or forward-looking statements. Furthermore, Cephalon does not
intend to update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as
required by law. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
permits this discussion.

Contacts:
US Media
Sheryl Williams
+1-610-738-6493
swilliams@cephalon.com
European Media
Marie-Dominique de La Salle
+33(1)49-81-82-48
mddelasalle@cephalon.fr
Investors
Robert (Chip) Merritt
+1-610-738-6376
cmerritt@cephalon.com
Linda Pavy
Burson Marsteller
+33(6)07-59-43-95
Linda@Pavy@bm.com

ots Originaltext: Cephalon
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
CONTACT: US Media: Sheryl Williams,
+1-610-738-6493,swilliams@cephalon.com; European Media:
Marie-Dominique de La Salle,+33(1)49-81-82-48,
mddelasalle@cephalon.fr; Investors:Robert (Chip) Merritt,
+1-610-738-6376, cmerritt@cephalon.com; Linda Pavy:Burson Marsteller,
+33(6)07-59-43-95, Linda@Pavy@bm.com