SAN DIEGO, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Oct 24, 2008 -- Cypress Bioscience, Inc. (CYPB - News) will launch its first two novel personalized medicine services at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco on October 24-29, 2008.

The initial personalized medicine services facilitate improved diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic decision making for rheumatologists treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Avise PG(SM) is a test that supports dose optimization and therapeutic decision making for patients taking methotrexate (MTX), a widely used first-line therapy for RA. Avise MCV(SM) is a test that aids in the diagnosis and prognosis of RA. Both tests are available exclusively from Cypress Bioscience and are performed using standard blood samples sent to the company's CLIA-certified laboratory in San Diego.

Avise PG offers rheumatologists insight into a patient's metabolism of MTX by measuring levels of MTX polyglutamates, the active metabolites of MTX. Historically, physicians have depended solely on a patient's response, as gauged by clinical signs and symptoms, to determine whether MTX therapy has been optimized. As patients' metabolism of MTX varies markedly, Avise PG can help physicians determine whether patients may benefit from continued dose escalation or additional time on MTX therapy, or whether patients need a change in their treatment.

Avise MCV is a sensitive and specific test that improves upon traditional biomarkers used to help diagnose RA. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of RA are critically important in the prevention of erosive joint destruction and disability. Avise MCV measures antibodies to mutated citrullinated vimentin, a protein found in the inflamed synovium of patients with RA, which is believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Avise MCV is used for first-line diagnostic testing of patients who present with symptoms of RA, and offers prognostic insight with respect to disease progression while improving diagnostic accuracy.

"To date, rheumatology has not benefited from advances in personalized medicine to the same extent as fields such as oncology. Cypress Bioscience is committed to developing personalized medicine tools to help rheumatologists individualize patient care with the goal of improving both the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatologic diseases," remarked R. Michael Gendreau, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer at Cypress Bioscience.

"The launch of these personalized medicine services represents an important milestone in our maturation to a uniquely positioned commercial enterprise. Cypress Bioscience now has a product candidate, milnacipran, currently under NDA review at the FDA as a therapy for the management of fibromyalgia, and a sales force that will be detailing our personalized medicine services to rheumatologists," remarked Jay D. Kranzler, MD, PhD, Chairman and CEO of Cypress Bioscience. "This strategic approach reflects our on-going commitment to partnering with these specialists."

About Cypress Bioscience

Cypress Bioscience, Inc. develops therapeutics and personalized medicine services, to facilitate improved and individualized patient care. Cypress' goal is to address the evolving needs of specialist physicians and their patients by identifying unmet medical needs in the areas of pain, rheumatology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, including challenging disorders such as fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.

This press release, as well as Cypress' SEC filings and website at http://www.cypressbio.com, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements related to the proposed launch and expected benefits of the personalized medicine services, and the expected competitive and commercial advantages of offering these services to rheumatologists. Actual results could vary materially from those described as a result of a number of factors, including the risk that there may not be FDA approval of milnacipran and even if approved, that the FDA delay may be longer than expected, risks involved with Cypress' ability to successfully build a sales force and execute its marketing strategy, risks around market acceptance of our personalized medicine services and whether they will facilitate improved diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic decision making for Rheumatologists, risks involved with the development and commercialization of Cypress' product candidates and personalized medicine services, and other risks and uncertainties described in Cypress' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any subsequent SEC filings. You are urged to consider statements that include the words "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "believes," "potential," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and forward-looking. The statements in this press release speak only as the date hereof, and Cypress undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Avise PG

Avise PG is the first and only test to measure MTX polyglutamates, the active metabolites of MTX. MTX absorption, metabolism, and excretion vary widely between patients, leading to marked variability in the conversion of MTX to its active, polyglutamated forms. Because of this variability, dose and response do not always correlate, making it challenging to optimize MTX therapy without insight into the patient's unique MTX metabolism. Avise PG can help physicians determine whether patients who are partial or nonresponders to MTX may benefit from continued dose escalation or may need a change in their therapy.

About Avise MCV

Avise MCV is a sensitive and specific test that improves upon traditional means of diagnosing RA. The test is a useful adjunct to traditional clinical and laboratory methods for diagnosis of RA, offering a high level of diagnostic accuracy and correlation to RA disease progression. Avise MCV measures antibodies to mutated citrullinated vimentin, a protein found in the inflamed synovium of patients with RA. Avise MCV may be used for first-line testing of patients who present with symptoms of RA, and offers prognostic insight while improving diagnostic accuracy.

For more information about Cypress Bioscience, Avise PG and Avise MCV, please visit our websites at www.cypressbio.com and www.avisetest.com.

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