Icagen Names Senior Vice President Clinical and Regulatory Affairs

"Dr. Hetherington brings to Icagen an outstanding background inall phases of clinical drug development from Phase I clinical trialsthrough product registration. His breadth of both clinical andregulatory experience provides him with an ideal background to leadour clinical development efforts," stated P. Kay Wagoner, Ph.D.,President and CEO of Icagen. "We welcome Dr. Hetherington to oursenior management team and look forward to his contribution as weadvance our ion channel drug candidates through clinical development."

Dr. Hetherington commented, "It is a pleasure to have theopportunity to lead Icagen's clinical and regulatory group at thiscritical time in the Company's history. ICA-17043 for the treatment ofsickle cell disease represents a truly exciting medical opportunity,and I am delighted to have the privilege of working on this importantprogram together with others at the Company, as well as with ourpartner, McNeil Pediatrics. I look forward to working with the othermembers of the Icagen senior management team as we continue to advancethis promising program, as well as the broad array of earlier stagepreclinical and research programs focused on novel ion channel basedtherapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases."

Dr. Hetherington's career in clinical drug development andacademic medicine spans a period of over twenty-five years. From 2002to May 2006, Dr. Hetherington served as Vice President, ClinicalDevelopment and Chief Medical Officer at Inhibitex, a biotechnologycompany. From 1995 to 2002, Dr. Hetherington served in positions ofincreasing responsibility in clinical drug development atGlaxoSmithKline and Glaxo Wellcome. During this period, Dr.Hetherington made significant contributions to several clinicaldevelopment programs, including work on the currently marketedpharmaceuticals Ziagen, Trizivir and Agenerase. During this period Dr.Hetherington also served as a faculty member at the University ofNorth Carolina School of Medicine. Prior to joining Glaxo Wellcome,Dr. Hetherington held appointments at several leading academic medicalcenters, including the University of Tennessee, St. Jude Children'sResearch Hospital in Memphis and Albany Medical College. DrHetherington earned his B.S. at Yale University and his M.D. at theUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He completed hispostgraduate training in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseasesat the University of North Carolina and the University of Minnesota,respectively. Dr. Hetherington has published extensively in themedical and scientific literature, and is board certified in bothpediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases.

About Icagen

Icagen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in ResearchTriangle Park, North Carolina, focused on the discovery, developmentand commercialization of novel orally-administered small moleculedrugs that modulate ion channel targets. Utilizing its proprietaryknow-how and integrated scientific and drug development capabilities,Icagen has identified multiple drug candidates that modulate ionchannels. The Company's four most advanced programs are:

-- ICA-17043 for sickle cell disease, for which the Company is conducting a pivotal Phase III clinical trial;

-- lead compounds for epilepsy and neuropathic pain, for which the Company is conducting preclinical studies;

-- a compound for atrial fibrillation, for which the Company's collaborator Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is conducting preclinical studies;

-- lead compounds for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, for which the Company's collaborator Astellas Pharma Inc. is conducting preclinical studies, and lead compounds for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which were derived from the collaboration and for which the Company is conducting preclinical studies; and

Icagen is also conducting ongoing drug discovery programs focusedon new therapeutics for pain disorders, inflammatory disorders andglaucoma.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements thatinvolve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, anystatements contained herein that are not statements of historical factmay be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting theforegoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects,""intends," and similar expressions are intended to identifyforward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actualresults to differ materially from the expectations described in theseforward-looking statements are set forth under the caption "RiskFactors" in the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q,which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Theserisk factors include risks as to whether the Company's products willadvance in the clinical trials process, the timing of such clinicaltrials, whether the results obtained in preliminary studies will beindicative of results obtained in clinical trials, whether theclinical trial results will warrant continued product development,whether and when, if at all, the Company's products, includingICA-17043, will receive approval from the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration or equivalent regulatory agencies, and for whichindications, and if such products receive approval, whether they willbe successfully marketed; the Company's history of net losses and howlong the Company will be able to operate on its existing capitalresources; and the Company's dependence on third parties, includingmanufacturers, suppliers and collaborators. We disclaim any intentionor obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result ofdevelopments occurring after the date of this press release.