Questcor Signs Agreement With Orphan Australia to Market H.P. Acthar Gel and Ethamolin in...

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

UNION CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2002

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:QSC) has signed an agreement with Orphan Australia of Melbourne, Australia for the exclusive marketing and distribution of H.P. Acthar(R) Gel and

"By selecting well-positioned strategic partners in individual foreign markets, we expect to be able to quickly establish the markets for Acthar and Ethamolin," said Charles J. Casamento, Questcor's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. "Australia and New Zealand combined represent a leading market for pharmaceuticals worldwide. Given the experience that Orphan Australia has in gastroenterology and neurology, we're confident that sales of both Acthar and Ethamolin will grow nicely in these countries."

"This marketing partnership with Orphan Australia is consistent with our strategy to commercialize our products throughout the world," commented Kenneth R. Greathouse, Questcor's Vice President of Commercial Operations. "We have entered into twenty seven agreements in the past nine years, a number of these to enable us to market our products in Europe, South America, Asia, and now Australia and New Zealand."

The value of the combined pharmaceutical markets of Australia and New Zealand was $2.9 billion in 2000, which represented an increase of 11% over 1999. Although relatively small in comparison to the US, this market is generally recognized as one of the 10 leading global pharmaceutical markets and is expected to grow 9% annually through 2005.

About Questcor

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company that serves the needs of the acute care and critical care hospital markets with its proprietary products including HP Acthar(R) Gel for a seizure complex, referred to as West Syndrome or infantile spasm, and patients with multiple sclerosis, Ethamolin(R) for sclerotherapy, Glofil(TM)-125 and Inulin for measuring renal glomerular filtration rate, VSL#3(TM), a therapeutic probiotic for promoting normal gastrointestinal function and Pramidin(R) which is marketed in Italy for various gastrointestinal disorders including nausea and vomiting. Questcor's clinical stage pipeline products are being developed to treat delayed onset emesis (vomiting) and various central nervous system disorders. As part of a strategy to develop its products globally, Questcor has entered into over 20 contractual relationships with public and private companies including: Ahn-Gook Pharmaceuticals of Korea; Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Bridgewater, NJ; CSC Pharmaceuticals Handels GmbH of Vienna, Austria; Sirton Pharmaceuticals, S.p.A (formerly known as Crinos Group) of Como, Italy; Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan; Orphan Australia of Melbourne, Australia; Rigel, Inc. of South San Francisco, CA; Sigma-Tau Finanziaria S.p.A of Rome, Italy; Tularik, Inc. of South San Francisco, CA and VSL Pharmaceuticals of Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

About Orphan Australia

Orphan Australia is a privately owned pharmaceutical company based in Melbourne, providing niche products to Australia, New Zealand and selected South East Asian countries. Orphan Australia specializes in the development, marketing and distribution of products typically used by specialists to treat serious and/or life threatening disorders.

Note: Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements are subject to certain factors, which may cause Questcor's results to differ from those reported herein. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, Questcor's ability to accurately forecast the demand for each of their products, the gross margins achieved from the sale of those products and the expenses and other cash needs for the upcoming periods, Questcor's ability to obtain finished goods from its sole source contract manufacturers on a timely basis if at all, Questcor's need for additional funding, uncertainties regarding Questcor's intellectual property and other research, development, marketing and regulatory risks, and, to the ability of Questcor to implement its strategy and acquire products and, if acquired, to market them successfully as well as the risks discussed in Questcor's report on Form 10-K for the calendar year ended December 31, 2001 and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risk factors and other information contained in these documents should be considered in evaluating Questcor's prospects and future financial performance.

Questcor undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.