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The following is an excerpt from a S-1 SEC Filing, filed by XCEL PHARMACEUTICALS INC on 1/7/2002.

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves significant risks. You should carefully consider the following risks described below, and the other information included in this prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes, before you decide to buy our common stock. Our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed by any of the following risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our short operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects

Our ability to generate revenues and income is unproven as a result of our short operating history. We were formed in January 2001 and focused during 2001 primarily on acquiring our initial products, hiring and training our sales force and identifying and seeking to acquire additional products. We recorded net sales of $5.6 million and a net loss of $7.5 million during the period from our inception through September 30, 2001. We may continue to incur significant losses if our revenues do not increase to keep pace with our current expenses and any future increase in our expenses. As a result of this limited operating history, our brief operating results are not indicative of our future results or prospects.

We rely on sales from our only two products, Diastat and Mysoline, for all of our revenues

Since our inception all of our revenues have come from sales of our only two products, Diastat and Mysoline. We expect that, for the foreseeable future, we will continue to rely on these products for substantially all of our revenues. Accordingly, our success depends on our ability to maintain and increase sales of Diastat and Mysoline. We acquired these products only recently and our sales force has only limited experience with these products. Our sales and marketing efforts may not be successful in maintaining and increasing the prescriptions for our products. Our sales of Diastat and Mysoline are also subject to the following risks:

• the ability of some of our competitors to price products below a price at which we can competitively sell these products;

• physician or public perception that these products are not safe or effective;

• the introduction of new competitive products; and

• a suspension or reduction in sales of these products as a result of an adverse event experienced by a patient.

Furthermore, our success depends on our ability to increase physician awareness of the benefits of including Diastat as part of the standard treatment regimen for their epilepsy patients. As a new company, we may have difficulty raising the awareness necessary to increase physician use of Diastat. If Diastat fails to gain market share, our business may be harmed.

We rely on single third-party manufacturers and a single third-party distributor for our products

Diastat and Mysoline are each manufactured by a single third-party manufacturer. In addition, we rely on a single third party for the distribution of both of our products. If we were to experience any interruption in the manufacturing or distribution of our products, we might not be able to locate an alternative manufacturer or distributor in a timely fashion or on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, in the event of any interruption of the manufacturing or distribution of our products, we likely would experience reduced sales and increased

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expenses associated with identifying and qualifying alternate manufacturers or distributors. Any of the following factors could impact the supply of our products from third-party manufacturers and distributors:

• an interruption in the supply of products from a third party as a result of the lack of required governmental or regulatory approvals, including as a result of deficiencies in the current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, identified by a governmental or regulatory agency following an inspection of a manufacturer's or distributor's facilities;

• an interruption in the supply of products from a third-party manufacturer as a result of the unavailability of raw materials or component parts; or

• an interruption in the supply of products from third-party manufacturers or distributors as a result of the occurrence of a labor interruption or natural disaster.

The manufacturer of Mysoline has indicated that it does not intend to renew our current manufacturing agreement upon its expiration in March 2003. As a result, we will be required to identify a new manufacturer for Mysoline and negotiate a new manufacturing agreement. We will also be required to work with the new manufacturer to obtain all government approvals required for the manufacturer to supply the product. We may not be successful in identifying a new manufacturer for Mysoline on a timely basis, or at all. Further, even if we do identify a new manufacturer, we may not be successful in negotiating an agreement with the manufacturer and any agreement we may negotiate may not be favorable to us. If we are unsuccessful in identifying a new manufacturer, negotiating a favorable agreement with the manufacturer and working with the manufacturer to obtain all required governmental approvals prior to the time that our inventory of Mysoline is exhausted, we will not be able to fill orders for Mysoline.

Failure to comply with government regulations could impair our ability to operate our business

Our business and products are subject to extensive and rigorous regulation at both the federal and state levels. We and our contract manufacturers are principally regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, as well as by various other governmental agencies including, in the case of Diastat, the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA. These regulatory authorities govern the development, testing, manufacture, safety, effectiveness, labeling, storage, record keeping, approval, advertising and promotion of our products.

The FDA has approved Diastat and Mysoline for marketing. Some changes to an approved product, for example, adding a new indication, require additional FDA approval before the change can be implemented. Our products are sometimes used by physicians for indications other than those approved by the FDA, and we cannot be sure that the FDA will not object to this off-label use. Failure to obtain any necessary additional approvals or maintain existing approvals may result in a default under our loan and security agreements with Elan or cause the FDA to object to the continued marketing of our products.

We and our contract manufacturers and distributors, our products, the facilities at which the products are manufactured and stored and other aspects of our business such as our promotional activities, must continue to comply with the FDA's regulatory requirements, including compliance with cGMP. In addition, because Diastat is regulated as a controlled substance, our third-party manufacturer and distributor must have security, control and accounting mechanisms in order to prevent loss and diversion of controlled substances. The FDA and the DEA regularly inspect manufacturing and other pharmaceutical facilities to evaluate compliance with these requirements. Violation of regulatory requirements may result in various adverse consequences, including the regulatory agency's delay in approving, or refusing to approve, a product, suspension or withdrawal of an approved product from the market, recalls, operating restrictions, seizures, injunctions or criminal prosecution, which could harm our business.

We cannot predict what impact changes in regulations, enforcement positions, statutes or legal interpretations, when and if promulgated, adopted or enacted, may have on our business in the future.

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Our competitive position in our industry may suffer if we are not successful in growing our business through acquisitions of complementary products

We intend to increase our sales and enhance our competitive position by acquiring products that we can promote and sell through our existing sales and marketing organization or that enable us to expand into new focused markets. We engage in only limited efforts to develop product enhancements for our products and will rely primarily on acquisitions from other companies to obtain new products. These product acquisitions may be carried out through the purchase of assets, joint ventures, licenses or by acquiring other companies. We may not be able to identify acquisition candidates and, even if we identify appropriate candidates, we may not be able to complete acquisitions on satisfactory terms.

Other companies, many of which have substantially greater financial, marketing and sales resources than our own, compete with us for the acquisition of products or companies. We may not be able to acquire rights to additional products on acceptable terms, or at all, and we may not be able to obtain future financing for acquisitions on acceptable terms, or at all. Our inability to acquire additional products could limit our growth. Furthermore, even if we are successful in acquiring additional products, we may not be able to generate sales sufficient to create a profit or otherwise avoid a loss. Future acquisitions could also result in large and immediate write-offs, incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities or amortization of expenses related to intangible assets, any of which could harm our business.

We anticipate that the integration of newly-acquired products or companies into our business will require significant management attention and may require expansion of our sales organization. To manage any acquisitions we complete, we must maintain adequate operational, financial and management information systems and motivate and manage our employees. Any failure by us to integrate successfully our acquisitions could harm our business.

We may need to raise additional funds to pursue our growth strategy or continue our operations

We do not have a sufficient operating history to know with certainty whether our existing financial resources and the proceeds of the sale of our common stock in this offering and to Elan will be sufficient to finance our anticipated growth. Depending on the acquisition opportunities available and our use of our financial resources to satisfy existing capital and operating needs, we may need to raise additional funds to finance these transactions or continue our operations, either through the public or private sale of our debt or equity securities or by borrowing funds. We may not be able to borrow money on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, and any sale of our debt or equity securities may result in dilution to our stockholders. In addition, our loan and security agreements with Elan limit our ability to incur debt without Elan's consent in excess of certain limits. Further, the rights, preferences and privileges of the securities we may sell may be senior to those held by our current stockholders. If adequate funds are not available on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to expand our business through the acquisition of additional products or companies or to respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited.

In connection with our purchase of Diastat and Mysoline, we have borrowed $99 million from Elan pursuant to loan and security agreements containing various operating covenants

In connection with these loans, we have granted to Elan a security interest in all of the assets we purchased from Elan. Elan is also protected by various loan covenants and other rights that, if breached by us, even in the absence of a payment default, will entitle Elan to foreclose on its security interest and reacquire the products without payment or refund to us. These covenants include not taking any of the following actions without Elan's consent:

• engaging in a material line of business outside of the pharmaceutical business;

• selling, leasing or disposing of substantially all of our assets or any of the collateral;

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• acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of others;

• merging with or consolidating into other parties; and

• making certain distributions to our stockholders.

We have also agreed to limit our borrowings from third parties without Elan's consent. Generally, except for specific exceptions set forth in the loan and security agreements, including an exception permitting us to incur debt without Elan's consent in connection with our purchase of additional products, we cannot have debt outstanding, other than the debt owed to Elan, in excess of $3 million until we have paid for the Diastat and Mysoline inventory we purchased from Elan, at which time this amount will be increased to $6.5 million.

We will also be in default if we fail to cure a breach of our representations, warranties and covenants under the loan and security agreements within any applicable cure period. In such an event, Elan may exercise its rights and remedies under the loan and security agreements, including refusing to make any advances to us under the credit line, accelerating the due date of all our obligations to Elan and foreclosing on the products and other collateral without payment or refund to us. Any such foreclosure would severely harm us and the interests of our stockholders and could result in a complete loss of your investment.

We may face competition for Diastat once its orphan drug exclusivity expires in July 2004

Other drug companies may be able to obtain FDA approval to market generic versions of Diastat after July 2004 if they can design products that do not infringe our patent for Diastat and that meet the FDA's approval requirements. Our patent on Diastat, which expires in 2012, is a formulation patent and does not protect against use of Diastat's active pharmaceutical ingredient outside of the specific formulation described in our patent. If competing products are developed and marketed, we may experience downward price pressure and reduced sales of Diastat. Given that we currently rely on sales of Diastat for a substantial portion of our revenues, any decline in Diastat sales or downward price pressure on Diastat as a result of competing drugs could significantly harm our business.

We compete with generic substitutes for Mysoline

We have no patent protection on Mysoline and we compete with manufacturers of generic substitutes for Mysoline. Generic substitutes for Mysoline currently sell at prices that are less than the price of Mysoline. Any significant decline in the prices for generic substitutes for Mysoline would result in downward price pressure on Mysoline, particularly if third-party payors refuse to reimburse patients or reduce the reimbursements patients receive, for branded products or if physicians begin to prescribe, or pharmacists begin to substitute, generic products more frequently than the branded counterparts. We rely on sales of Mysoline for a substantial portion of our revenues and any decline in Mysoline sales or downward price pressure on Mysoline could significantly harm our business.

Our revenues and operating results may fluctuate in future periods and we may fail to meet expectations, which may cause the price of our common stock to decline

Variations in our quarterly operating results are difficult to predict and may fluctuate significantly from period to period, particularly because we are a relatively new company and our sales prospects are uncertain. If our quarterly sales or operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. In addition to the other factors discussed under these "Risk Factors," specific factors that may cause fluctuations in our operating results include:

• demand and pricing for our products, including wholesaler purchasing patterns;

• physician and patient acceptance of, and prescription rates for, our products;

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• government or private healthcare reimbursement policies; and

• the performance of product manufacturers.

As a result of these factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results are not a good indication of our future performance.

Impairment of our significant intangible assets may reduce our profitability

The costs of our acquired product rights are recorded as intangible assets and amortized over the period that we expect to benefit from the assets. As of September 30, 2001, intangible assets comprised approximately 85% of our total assets and over two times our stockholders' equity. We periodically evaluate the recoverability and the amortization period of our intangible assets. Any impairment of our intangible assets will harm our profitability.

Our product enhancement efforts may result in the expenditure of significant resources with no return

We intend to develop enhancements to our existing products. We may not be successful in developing or making enhancements that will benefit patients or be accepted by physicians. We intend to rely on third parties to help develop, test and manufacture product enhancements. We may not be able to identify adequate development partners, and even if identified, we may not be able to enter into agreements with these entities on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Further, the process of obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals for product enhancements may be lengthy and expensive. If we select the wrong product enhancements or fail to develop or obtain regulatory approval for these product enhancements, our growth may be limited and we may expend significant resources without any return.

If third-party reimbursement ceases to be available for our products, the market may no longer accept our products and we may not be able to maintain our current product price levels

Our ability to sell our products depends in part on the extent to which reimbursement for the costs of our products is available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and others. Third-party insurance coverage may not be adequate for us to maintain price levels sufficient to realize an appropriate return on our investment in our products. Government authorities, private insurers and other third-party payors are increasingly attempting to contain health care costs by:

• generally limiting the coverage and level of reimbursement for prescription products;

• refusing, in some cases, to provide any coverage for uses of approved products for indications for which the FDA has not granted marketing approval;

• controlling the pharmaceutical products that are on their formulary lists; and

• requiring or encouraging, through more favorable reimbursement levels or otherwise, the substitution of generic alternatives to branded products.

In addition, many managed care organizations are considering formulary contracts primarily with pharmaceutical companies that can offer a full line of products for a given therapy sector or disease state. Our products may not be included on the formulary lists of managed care organizations. In this event, third-party reimbursement for our products would not likely be available and physicians may not prescribe our products.

The competition between pharmaceutical companies to get their products approved for reimbursement may also result in downward pricing pressure in the industry or in the markets where our products compete. We may not be successful in any efforts we take to mitigate the effect of a decline in average selling prices for our products. Any decline in our average selling prices would also reduce our gross margins.

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New legislation or regulatory proposals may harm our ability to raise capital and increase our revenues

A number of legislative and regulatory proposals aimed at changing the health care system, including the cost of prescription products and changes in the levels at which consumers and healthcare providers are reimbursed for purchases of pharmaceutical products, have been proposed. While we cannot predict when or whether any of these proposals will be adopted or the effect these proposals may have on our business, the nature of these pending proposals, as well as the adoption of any proposal, may harm our ability to raise capital or exacerbate industry-wide pricing pressures and could harm our ability to generate revenues.

We depend on protection of our intellectual property rights

Diastat is protected by a U.S. formulation patent until 2012. Other drug companies may be able to develop generic versions of Diastat prior to 2012 if they can design products that do not infringe our patent. Our patent is a formulation patent and does not protect the use of Diastat's active pharmaceutical ingredient outside of the formulation described in our patent. Mysoline is not covered by a patent. In addition, we have rights to several trademarks regarding Diastat and a trademark regarding Mysoline. We also have trade secrets and other proprietary information in connection with the manufacture of our products.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights against third party infringement. We may not be successful in securing or maintaining proprietary or patent protection for our products. The validity of patents and other intellectual property rights can be subject to expensive litigation, and our patents and intellectual property rights may be challenged. In addition, our competitors may develop products similar to ours using methods and technologies that are beyond the scope of our intellectual property protection, which could reduce our sales. If we are unsuccessful in defending our intellectual property rights, third parties may be able to copy our products, which would impair our ability to meet our sales projections. A third party could claim that our intellectual property rights infringe its intellectual property rights. If our intellectual property rights ultimately were determined to infringe a third party's rights, we could be liable for royalties on past sales, and could be required to enter into licenses to continue to manufacture and sell our products. These licenses would require us to pay future royalty payments to the third party. If we become involved in any dispute regarding our intellectual property rights, regardless of whether we prevail, we could be required to engage in costly, distracting and time-consuming litigation that could harm our business.

We may face liability and indemnity claims that could result in unexpected costs and damage to our reputation

Our business exposes us to potential liability risks that arise from the testing, manufacture and sale of our products. Some plaintiffs have received substantial damage awards in some jurisdictions against pharmaceutical companies based upon claims for injuries allegedly caused by the use of their products. Although currently we maintain product liability insurance coverage of $10 million, there is no guarantee that any claims brought against us would be within our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. Any judgment against us that is in excess of our policy limits would have to be paid from our cash reserves, which would reduce our capital resources. Further, we may not have sufficient capital resources to pay a judgment, in which case our creditors could levy against our assets. Also, it may be necessary for us to recall products that do not meet approved specifications, which would result in adverse publicity, potentially significant costs in connection with the recall and a loss of revenues. Any product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could significantly harm our business, particularly if such claims resulted in adverse publicity or damage awards outside or in excess of our insurance policy limits.

We rely for our success on our ability to hire and retain key personnel

Our success depends on the principal members of our management staff. If we lose the services of one or more of these individuals, we may not be able to achieve our business objectives. We do not have employment contracts with any of our key management personnel. We may not be able to recruit and retain qualified

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personnel in the future due to intense competition for personnel among pharmaceutical businesses. Recruiting and retaining experienced sales personnel is equally difficult but essential to the success of our operations. As of November 30, 2001, we had 102 employees, of which 87 were in sales and marketing and 15 were in administration and support services.

We have derived 90% of our revenues from three customers

Since our inception, we have received 42% of our revenues from McKesson HBOC, Inc., 28% of our revenues from Cardinal Health, Inc. and 20% of our revenues from AmerisourceBergen Corporation. Our business would be harmed if we were to lose any of these customers and we were unable to replace the revenues lost, or if any of these customers were unable or unwilling to pay us for our products and we were unable to collect the amounts owing to us.

We are recording stock-based compensation expense relating to stock option grants and the amortization of this compensation expense will result in a charge to our earnings over the next four years

Stock-based compensation represents an expense associated with the recognition of the difference between the deemed fair market value of common stock at the time of an option grant and the option exercise price. Stock-based compensation is amortized over the vesting period of the options. At September 30, 2001, deferred stock-based compensation related to option grants to our employees and members of our board of directors totaled approximately $432,000, which will be amortized to expense on a straight-line basis as the options are earned, generally over a period of four years. We have incurred an additional $830,000 of deferred stock-based compensation related to options granted from October 1, 2001 through November 30, 2001, which will be amortized to expense in the same manner. Also, we have granted options to consultants which, for compensation purposes, must be re-measured at each reporting date during the vesting period. This requires us to record additional non-cash expenses. This re-measurement and the corresponding effect on the related expense may result in us incurring net losses or an increase in net losses for a given period.

Some of our charter and other contractual and statutory provisions may prevent a change of control that could be beneficial to our stockholders

Some provisions of our charter documents and our loan and security agreements with Elan could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without separate approval of our board of directors and Elan. As a result of these provisions, we or Elan could delay, deter or prevent a takeover attempt or third party acquisition that our stockholders consider to be in their best interests, including a takeover attempt that results in a premium over the market price for the shares held by our stockholders. These provisions include:

• a classified board of directors;

• the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms, and issue new series, of preferred stock;

• advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors;

• special voting requirements for the amendment of our charter and bylaws; and

• Elan's right to approve transactions that would constitute a change of control.

We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together, these charter, contractual and statutory provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock.

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Risks Related to this Offering

We have broad discretion to use the offering proceeds, and the manner in which we invest these proceeds may not yield a favorable return on your investment

The net proceeds of this offering are not allocated for specific uses other than general corporate purposes, including product acquisitions and working capital. Our management has broad discretion over how these proceeds are used and could spend the proceeds in ways with which you may not agree. The proceeds may not be invested ultimately in a manner that yields a favorable or any return on your investment.

Our stock price may be volatile and you may not be able to sell your shares at or above the offering price

Our common stock has not been publicly traded, and an active trading market may not develop or be sustained after this offering. The market prices for securities of specialty pharmaceutical companies in general have been highly volatile and may continue to be highly volatile in the future. You may not be able to sell your shares at or above the offering price. The price at which our common stock will trade after this offering may fluctuate substantially as a result of one or more of the following factors:

• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;

• changes in or our failure to meet investors' and securities analysts' expectations;

• announcements of technological innovations or new commercial products;

• introduction of new products and services by us or our competitors;

• developments concerning proprietary rights, including patents;

• regulatory developments and related announcements in the United States and foreign countries;

• litigation; and

• general stock market conditions.

We may become involved in securities class action litigation that could divert management's attention and harm our business

The stock market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices for the common stocks of pharmaceutical companies. These broad market fluctuations may cause the market price of our common stock to decline. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company's securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against the company. We may become involved in this type of litigation in the future. Litigation is often expensive and diverts management's attention and resources, which could harm our business.

Future sales of our common stock may depress our stock price

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market after this offering or after the expiration of contractually or legally required holding periods could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. After this offering, we will have approximately shares of common stock outstanding. All of the shares sold in this offering will be freely tradable unless they are purchased by our affiliates, as defined under the Securities Act of 1933. The remaining shares of common stock outstanding immediately after this offering, including the shares to be purchased by Elan concurrent with the closing of this offering, will be subject to the restrictions on transfer contained in the lock-up agreements described under "Underwriting." Immediately after the expiration of the 180-day period set forth in the lock-up agreements, shares, which will be outstanding immediately after this offering, will become available for sale.

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Our executive officers and directors and their affiliates will exercise control over stockholder voting matters

After this offering, our executive officers and directors and their affiliates will together control approximately % of our outstanding common stock. As a result, these stockholders will collectively be able to control all matters requiring approval of a majority of our stockholders, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions. We and our principal stockholders have also entered into an agreement under which we will use our best efforts to have a nominee of Elan elected to our board of directors. The concentration of ownership may delay, prevent or deter a change in control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company or our assets and might affect the prevailing market price of our common stock.

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INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus may contain forward-looking statements. You may find these forward-looking statements under "Prospectus Summary," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Business," as well as elsewhere in this prospectus. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

• our ability to successfully market and sell our products;

• our ability to leverage our existing sales force;

• our ability to acquire and assimilate new product acquisitions;

• our ability to develop product enhancements;

• our estimates regarding reimbursement rates or methods; and

• our estimates regarding our capital requirements and our need for additional financing.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following terms: intends, may, will, should, could, would, expects, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, projects, predicts and potential, as well as similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We discuss many of these risks in this prospectus in greater detail under "Risk Factors." These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this prospectus.

You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

SALE OF SHARES TO ELAN

Concurrent with the closing of this offering, we are selling shares of our common stock to Elan in a separate private placement transaction at a price per share equal to the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any discount or commission on the sale of these shares.

Elan has agreed not to sell any shares of our common stock, including the shares being purchased in the private placement, for a period of at least 180 days following the date of this prospectus. As of November 30, 2001, Elan beneficially owned 3,030,000 shares of our common stock. See "Business-Material Agreements," "Management," "Related-Party Transactions," "Principal Stockholders" and "Description of Capital Stock-Registration Rights" for further discussion of our relationship with Elan.

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