Eurand in Licenses Corticosteroid GI Product From Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA

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PHILADELPHIA, April 15, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Eurand N.V.
(Nasdaq:EURX), a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops,
manufactures and commercializes enhanced pharmaceutical and
biopharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug formulation
technologies, announced today that Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, an
Italian pharmaceutical company, has granted Eurand Pharmaceuticals
Inc. (Eurand), Affiliate of Eurand N.V., an exclusive license to its
gastro-resistant, controlled release tablet formulation of the
corticosteroid, beclomethasone dipropionate, in the United States and
Canada. The product is currently approved and marketed in the United
Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Belgium.

Eurand will make an up-front payment and commercial milestone
payments to Chiesi Farmaceutici, primarily contingent upon obtaining
U.S. regulatory approval for the product. In addition, Eurand will
pay royalties on net sales of the product.

The product, marketed in Europe as Clipper(tm) 5 mg tablets, is an
enteric coated, controlled release formulation of beclomethasone
dipropionate, a corticosteroid which is marketed in Europe for use in
the treatment of Ulcerative Colitis, the most prevalent type of
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Beclomethasone dipropionate is a
widely used anti-inflammatory corticosteroid for the treatment of
asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Corticosteroids, as single agents or in combination, are effective
treatment options for IBD such as Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's
disease; however, corticosteroids, including the most frequently used
treatment, prednisone, are associated with significant side-effects
due to systemic absorption. The systemic absorption of beclomethasone
dipropionate is lower than that of classical corticosteroids, such as
prednisone.

Eurand's newly licensed product was developed using a drug delivery
system that targets the site of action, or the lower gastrointestinal
(GI) tract and provides for a sustained release of drug upon
delivery. This technological approach aims to preserve the efficacy
of classical corticosteroids while reducing the side effects commonly
associated with their use.

The recent 2006 position statements of the American
Gastroenterological Association(1) and the 2006 guidelines from the
European Crohn's and Colitis Organization(2) now list delayed release
corticosteroids with a reduced systemic availability as a first line
treatment recommendation for a majority of Crohn's disease patients.

Gearoid Faherty, Chief Executive Officer of Eurand, commented, "We
believe this product's potential favorable efficacy and side effect
profile could offer significant benefits and a new option to the 1.3
million U.S. patients who suffer from IBD. Gaining this important
product helps to strengthen our product pipeline and highlights our
commitment to building a GI franchise. Subject to approval, we intend
to offer EUR-1008 (Zentase), our lead product candidate, to
specialist GI physicians for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis
and we believe Clipper(tm) would be an ideal product to provide to
the same physicians. We look forward to working with the FDA to
establish a clinical development and regulatory pathway for this
product in the United States."

Alberto Chiesi, CEO of Chiesi Group, underlined that, "The
opportunity to outlicense Clipper to Eurand for the U.S. and Canadian
markets is in line with the Group strategy to co-operate with
selected partners in order to extend the presence of our products and
meet still unmet medical needs."

About Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that
produces inflammation and ulcers along the inside of the large
intestine. The inflammation can interfere with the normal function of
the colon, often causing cramping, bloating, diarrhoea, bleeding,
fatigue, weight loss and frequent bowel movements which seriously
affect quality of life. It is believed that approximately 1.3 million
people in the United States have IBD. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic
relapsing-remitting illness for which there is no known cure:
however, patients can manage their symptoms. A known issue that
arises with ulcerative colitis patients is medication compliance and
excessive pill burden: many currently available ulcerative colitis
treatments require multiple, large pills to be taken several times
daily, and inconvenient means of administration are often involved.

About Chiesi

Chiesi Farmaceutici is a European pharmaceutical group, headquartered
in Parma, Italy with a turnover of EUR 656 million in 2007. Chiesi
has marketing and sales organizations in all major European markets,
Eastern Europe, Russia and other countries and product distribution
in over 40 countries and employs 3000 people worldwide, including
approximately 300 scientists in research facilities in Italy, France
and the U.S. Chiesi is developing innovative products aimed at the
effective treatment of respiratory diseases and rare pathologies.

Chiesi's news releases and other information are available on the
company's website at www.chiesigroup.com.

About Eurand

Eurand is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops,
manufactures and commercializes enhanced pharmaceutical and
biopharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug formulation
technologies. Eurand has had four partnered products approved by the
FDA since 2001 and has a pipeline of product candidates in
development for itself and its collaboration partners. Eurand has
completed two phase III clinical trials on its lead product
candidate, EUR-1008 (Zentase), intended for the treatment of Exocrine
Pancreatic Insufficiency and has submitted an NDA for this product
which has been granted priority review. Eurand's technology platforms
include bioavailability enhancement of poorly soluble drugs,
customized release, taste-masking/fast-dissolving formulations and
drug conjugation.

Eurand is a global company with facilities in the USA and Europe. For
more information, visit Eurand's website at www.eurand.com.

This release, and oral statements made with respect to information
contained in this release, constitutes forward-looking statements.
Such forward-looking statements include those which express plan,
anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets or future
development and/or otherwise are not statements of historical fact
including, but not limited to our plans for our NDA filing,
enrollment and future plans for our clinical trials, progress of and
reports of results from clinical studies, clinical development plans
and product development activities. The words "potentially," "could,"
"calls for" and similar expressions also identify forward-looking
statements. These statements are based upon management's current
expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, known and
unknown, which could cause actual results and developments to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.
Factors that could affect actual results include risks associated
with the possibility that the FDA refuses to approve our NDA; the
outcome of any discussions with the FDA; and unexpected delays in
preparation of materials for submission to the FDA as a part of our
NDA filing. Forward-looking statements contained in this press
release are made as of this date, and we undertake no obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise. Actual events could
differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking
statements.

(1) Lichtenstein GR, Abreu MT, Cohen R, Tremaine W. American
Gastroenterological Association Institute Technical Review on
Corticosteroids, Immunomodulators, and Infliximab in Inflammatory
Bowel Disease. Gastroenterology 2006;30:940-987.

(2) Travis SPL, Strange EF, Lemann M, Oresland T, Chowers Y, Forbes
G, D'Haens G, Kitis G, Cortot A, Prantera C, Marteau P, Colombel J-F,
Gionchetti P, Bouhnik Y, Tiret E, Kroesen J, Starlinger M, Mortensen
NJ, for the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO).
European evidence based consensus on the diagnosis and management of
Crohn's disease: current management. Gut 2006;55(Suppl 1):i16-i35.

CONTACT: Eurand N.V.
Mario Crovetto, Chief Financial Officer
+39 02 95428 521
mario.crovetto@eurand.com

The Ruth Group
Nick Laudico
646-536-7030
nlaudico@theruthgroup.com
Elizabeth Scott
646-536-7014
escott@theruthgroup.com

Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.
Massimo Zaninelli, Corporate Communication
+39 0521 27901
m.zaninelli@chiesigroup.com

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Eurand N.V.
845 Center Drive Vandalia, Ohio USA

WKN: A0MSPK; ISIN:
NL0000886448;
;