VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VSTA) Potential Rewards Far Exceed Its Current Market Valuation

Over the past decade, the number of new drugs approved by the FDA has dropped by a full 50%, despite major increases in research and development by the pharmaceutical industry. It’s not unusual for a company to invest more than a billion dollars, and over a decade of skilled resources, to get a new drug candidate to market. The fact is that even the most promising candidates can be shelved late in the game, long after the money and time have been spent, due to toxicity issues that were not discovered earlier. It’s a huge loss to the developing company, but a greater loss to the people whose lives could have been improved or even saved.

This is not an isolated problem. It is estimated that approximately a third of all potential new drug candidates fail to meet safety requirements in preclinical or clinical trials. The result is a massive inventory of promising drugs that are currently discontinued due to safety concerns. However, with more predictive and clinically-relevant in vitro toxicology bioassay systems, many of these hibernating drug candidates could be revived and developed as variants which are as effective as the original, but without the safety concerns.

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy. Drug rescue combines human stem cell technology with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants (“drug rescue variants”) of promising drug candidates that have been discontinued during preclinical development (“put on the shelf”) due to heart or liver safety concerns.

VistaGen’s versatile stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube, has been developed to provide clinically relevant indications, or predictions, of potential toxicity of new drug candidates before they are ever tested on humans. VistaGen’s human pluripotent stem cell-based bioassays more closely approximate human biology than conventional animal studies and nonclinical in vitro techniques and technologies currently used in drug development.

Using mature human heart cells produced from pluripotent stem cells, VistaGen leveraged its Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube platform to develop CardioSafe 3D, a three-dimensional (3D) bioassay system for predicting the in vivo cardiac effects of new drug candidates before they are tested in humans. The Company now plans to leverage CardioSafe 3D to build a pipeline of new, safer, variants of once promising drug candidates that have been “put on the shelf” by pharmaceutical companies because of toxicity concerns, despite positive efficacy data signaling their potential therapeutic and commercial benefits.

VistaGen is also developing LiverSafe 3D, a predictive liver toxicity and drug metabolism bioassay system, and is preparing to initiate pilot preclinical development of cell therapy programs focused on autologous bone marrow transplantation and heart, liver and cartilage repair. Each of these development programs is based on the proprietary human pluripotent stem cell differentiation and cell production capabilities of the Company’s Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube platform.

Since inception, VistaGen has obtained and employed more than $41 million from various strategic collaborations, investments and grant awards. Although investing in a small-cap company involves more risk, investors would be wise not to overlook the potential rewards as they far exceed the current market valuation of the Company (approximately $41 million market cap as of October 7, 2011). Revenues generated by just one drug successfully rescued and brought to market can total hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars within a couple years. Even more importantly, rescuing a drug candidate means the chance for rescued lives. Better cells make better medicine.

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The Medicines Company (MDCO) Launches New Formulation of Cleviprex(R) (Clevidipine) Injectable Emulsion

PARSIPPANY, NJ — (Marketwire) — 10/03/11 — The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) announced today launch of a new twelve hour formulation for Cleviprex® (clevidipine) Injectable Emulsion, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2011. Cleviprex is an intravenous dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker indicated for the reduction of blood pressure when oral therapy is not feasible or not desirable. The new formulation triples the maximum allowable infusion time per vial, commonly referred to in hospitals as “hang time” to 12 hours compared to the original 4-hour hang time vial approved by the FDA in 2008. The longer hang time requires fewer vial changes. The longer hang time was achieved by adding a bacterial growth retardant.

Brent Furse, Senior Vice President, Chief Customer Officer at The Medicines Company said, “This innovation came as a result of feedback from our Cleviprex customers and practitioners — particularly intensive care nurses who work in settings where patients often need acute blood pressure control for longer periods of time. By requiring fewer vial changes, the new Cleviprex product may potentially reduce medication waste and provide an efficient, economical solution. We plan to study the potential economic benefits of the new Cleviprex formulation compared to alternative acute blood pressure reducing drugs.”

The new Cleviprex 12-hour formulation is available for hospital pharmacy order today. It is supplied in single use vials of 50 mL and 100 mL with a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. The Medicines Company is working with hospital customers to manage the exchange of the new (less than 12 hour hang-time) and old (less than 4 hour hang-time) formulations of Cleviprex to ensure that hospitals do not have both in stock at the same time. Customers with queries regarding this process are invited to call The Medicines Company at 1-888-977-6326 or 1-973-290-6018.

Important Safety Information About Cleviprex

Cleviprex is contraindicated in patients with allergies to soybeans, soy products, eggs, or egg products; defective lipid metabolism seen in conditions such as pathologic hyperlipemia, lipoid nephrosis, or acute pancreatitis if it is accompanied by hyperlipidemia; and severe aortic stenosis. Cleviprex is intended for intravenous use. Use aseptic technique and discard any unused product within 12 hours of stopper puncture. Hypotension and reflex tachycardia are potential consequences of rapid upward titration of Cleviprex. If either occurs, decrease the dose of Cleviprex. There is limited experience with short-duration therapy with beta-blockers as a treatment for Cleviprex-induced tachycardia. Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers can produce negative inotropic effects and exacerbate heart failure. Monitor heart failure patients carefully. Cleviprex gives no protection against the effects of abrupt beta-blocker withdrawal. Beta-blockers should be withdrawn only after a gradual reduction in dose. Patients who receive prolonged Cleviprex infusions and are not transitioned to other antihypertensive therapies should be monitored for the possibility of rebound hypertension for at least 8 hours after the infusion is stopped. Cleviprex contains approximately 0.2 g of lipid per mL (2.0 kcal). Lipid intake restrictions may be necessary for patients with significant disorders of lipid metabolism. There is no information to guide use of Cleviprex in treating hypertension associated with pheochromocytoma. Most common adverse reactions are (greater than 2%) are headache, nausea, and vomiting.

About The Medicines Company
The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) provides medical solutions to improve health outcomes for patients in acute and intensive care hospitals worldwide. These solutions comprise medicines and knowledge that directly impact the survival and well being of critically ill patients. The Medicines Company’s website is www.themedicinescompany.com.

Statements contained in this press release about The Medicines Company that are not purely historical, and all other statements that are not purely historical, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates” and “expects” and similar expressions, including the Company’s preliminary revenue results, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause or contribute to such differences include the extent of the commercial success of Angiomax, the Company’s ability to develop its global operations and penetrate foreign markets, whether the Company’s products will advance in the clinical trials process on a timely basis or at all, whether the Company will make regulatory submissions for product candidates on a timely basis, whether its regulatory submissions will receive approvals from regulatory agencies on a timely basis or at all, whether physicians, patients and other key decision makers will accept clinical trial results, risks associated with the establishment of international operations, and such other factors as are set forth in the risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the risk factors detailed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 2, 2011, which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Contact: Michael Mitchell
The Medicines Company
973-290-6000
investor.relations@themedco.com

Bridgeline Digital (BLIN) iAPPS Product Suite Selected by Global Real Estate Trade Association

WOBURN, Mass., Oct. 3, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq:BLIN), developer of the award-winning iAPPS Web Experience Management (WEM) platform and interactive technology solutions, today announced that, in response to recent accelerated growth, a major international real estate trade association has selected iAPPS to replace their internally developed Content Management System (CMS). After comparing a variety of competitive options, the association’s IT and Executive groups selected the iAPPS Product Suite as the best solution for their Web Experience Management requirements.

Bridgeline’s market-leading iAPPS Product Suite is the only preeminent WEM platform available as either a SaaS or perpetual license solution that unifies Content Management, e-Commerce, e-Marketing, and analytics capabilities – enabling users to swiftly enhance and optimize the value of their web properties. The iAPPS Product Suite was recently selected as a finalist for two 2011 CODiE Awards, and iAPPS Content Manager is the 2010 CODiE Award Winner for Best Content Management Solution, globally. In addition, the editors of KM World Magazine selected iAPPS as a Trend Setting Product for both 2010 and 2011. Important as these factors were, the association’s ultimate decision to use iAPPS to support a WEM strategy commensurate to their company’s growth objectives exceeded them.

Primary to their selection of iAPPS was its unification across the product suite, as well as its ease-of-use. In comparison to their existing CMS – which was difficult to use and correspondingly suffered from a low user adoption rate – iAPPS’ single dashboard interface and modern, clean and intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI) was considered far superior. With iAPPS, the association sees a future of high user buy-in, streamlined and sensible functionality that will delight users, and an efficient, comprehensive online experience – for both internal users and external visitors.

As the iAPPS project has progressed, Bridgeline Digital’s engagement with the association has been hailed as superior, conscientious and highly responsive. From internal and external research of user habits, best and worst practices, and company needs, Bridgeline has been active at every level of the discovery process and intrinsic to developing the overall design and user experience.

About Bridgeline Digital

Bridgeline Digital is a developer of an award-winning web experience management product suite and award-winning interactive business technology solutions that help customers leverage best in class web-based technologies to achieve their business objectives. The iAPPS Product Suite is an innovative solution that unifies Content Management, eCommerce, eMarketing, and Analytics capabilities into the heart of websites, online stores, intranets, extranets, and portals – enabling business users to swiftly enhance and optimize the value of their web properties. iAPPS’ flexible architecture provides customers with a state-of–the-art Cloud-based deployment (SaaS) or traditional, dedicated server deployments.

Combined with award-winning interactive technology development services by Microsoft Gold-Certified development teams, Bridgeline Digital helps customers to cost-effectively maximize the value of their rapidly changing web applications. Bridgeline’s teams of developers specialize in web application development, e-commerce development, usability engineering, SharePoint development, rich media development, and search engine optimization.

Bridgeline Digital is headquartered near Boston, with additional locations in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, and Bangalore, India. Bridgeline Digital has hundreds of customers ranging from middle market organizations to divisions within Fortune 1,000 companies that include: Sun Chemical, Honeywell, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Novartis, Shaw Flooring, Marriott International, Berkshire Life, PODS, Budget Rent A Car, AARP, National Financial Partners, The Packard Foundation, DTCC, Cadaret, Grant Co., National Insurance Crime Bureau, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. To learn more about Bridgeline, please visit www.bridgelinedigital.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

All statements included in this press release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including the risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

CONTACT: Brian Bolton
         Bridgeline Digital, Inc.
         Vice President of Marketing
         781.497.3013
         bbolton@blinedigital.com

PokerTek (PTEK) Announces Appointment of Joseph Lahti as Chairman of the Board

PPD (PPDI) to be Acquired by The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman

Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which it will be acquired by affiliates of The Carlyle Group and Hellman Friedman in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.9 billion, after which PPD will be a private company.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Carlyle and Hellman Friedman will acquire the outstanding common shares of PPD for $33.25 per share in cash. This represents a premium of 29.6 percent over PPD’s closing price on September 30, 2011.

PPD’s board of directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement and recommended that PPD’s shareholders adopt the agreement. A special meeting of PPD’s shareholders will be held following the filing of a definitive proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and subsequent mailing of the proxy statement to shareholders.

“The sale of PPD to The Carlyle Group and Hellman Friedman provides an attractive return for our shareholders, while also ensuring a secure foundation and commitment to investment, innovation and excellence for PPD clients and employees as the company builds on its 25-year history of success,” said Fred Eshelman, founder and executive chairman of PPD.

Karen H. Bechtel, managing director and head of the healthcare group at Carlyle, said, “Fred Eshelman and PPD’s management team have built a leading and extremely high quality global research and services organization that will continue to help pharmaceutical and biotech companies develop new drugs at lower costs. We look forward to helping expand and enhance PPD’s platform and broad spectrum of therapeutic expertise.”

Allen Thorpe, managing director of Hellman Friedman added, “PPD has an outstanding global CRO franchise, and we are delighted to partner with its highly talented and capable employees around the world. They are well known for unwavering commitment to their clients, and we look forward to supporting that commitment to bring the broadest and deepest set of capabilities to PPD’s clients. We look forward to the company’s continued growth and expansion under our ownership.”

Closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including the approval of PPD’s shareholders, regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, but is not subject to any financing condition. The transaction has fully committed financing, consisting of a combination of equity provided by Carlyle Partners V, L.P., a $13.7 billion U.S. investment fund, and Hellman Friedman Capital Partners VII, L.P., an $8.9 billion fund, and external debt financing commitments provided by Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, PPD may solicit acquisition proposals from third parties for a period of 30 calendar days from the date of the merger agreement and may at any time respond to unsolicited proposals that the board determines are reasonably likely to result in a superior proposal. The merger agreement provides Carlyle and Hellman Friedman a customary right to match a superior proposal. There can be no assurance that this process will result in a superior proposal.

The transaction is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011. Following completion of the transaction, PPD will become a privately held company and its stock will no longer trade on Nasdaq. PPD noted that, in light of the proposed transaction, it will not host a conference call to discuss financial results for the third quarter of 2011.

Morgan Stanley Co. LLC is financial advisor, and Lazard provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of PPD in connection with the transaction. Wyrick Robbins Yates Ponton LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher Flom LLP are legal advisors to PPD in connection with the transaction. Latham Watkins LLP, Simpson Thacher Bartlett LLP and Covington Burling LLP are legal counsel, and Credit Suisse is financial advisor, to Carlyle and Hellman Friedman in connection with the transaction.

About PPD

PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development and lifecycle management services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 44 countries and more than 11,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics and maximize the returns on their RD investments. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $153 billion of assets under management across 86 funds and 49 fund of fund vehicles as of June 30, 2011*. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Fund of Funds Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America focusing on aerospace, defense government services, consumer retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, technology business services, telecommunications media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,100 people in 34 offices across six continents. Web: www.carlyle.com; Case Studies: www.carlylegroupcreatesvalue.com; Video: www.youtube.com/OneCarlyle. (*Includes acquisitions of AlpInvest Partners B.V. and Emerging Sovereign Group LLC on July 1, 2011.)

About Hellman Friedman

Hellman Friedman LLC is a leading private equity investment firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and London. Since its founding in 1984, Hellman Friedman has raised and, through its affiliated funds, managed over $25 billion of committed capital. The firm focuses on investing in superior business franchises and serving as a value-added partner to management in select industries including healthcare, business marketing services, software, financial services, internet digital media, insurance, media and energy industrials. For more information on Hellman Friedman, visit www.hf.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “should,” “seeks,” “future,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against PPD and others following announcement of the merger agreement; (3) the inability to complete the merger due to the failure to satisfy the conditions to the merger, including obtaining the approval of the holders of at least a majority of PPD’s outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote on the adoption of the merger agreement; (4) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations and potential difficulties in employee and customer retention as a result of the merger; (5) the ability to recognize the benefits of the merger; (6) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; and (7) other factors described in PPD’s filings with the SEC. Many of the factors that will determine the outcome of the subject matter of this press release are beyond PPD’s ability to control or predict. PPD can give no assurance that the conditions to the merger will be satisfied. Except as required by law, PPD undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. PPD is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this press release by wire services or Internet service providers.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed merger, PPD will prepare a proxy statement to be filed with the SEC. When completed, a definitive proxy statement and a form of proxy will be mailed to the shareholders of PPD. PPD’S SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. PPD’s shareholders will be able to obtain, without charge, a copy of the proxy statement (when available) and other relevant documents filed with the SEC from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. PPD’s shareholders will also be able to obtain, without charge, a copy of the proxy statement and other relevant documents (when available) by going to the Investors section of PPD’s corporate website, www.ppdi.com, or directing a request by mail or telephone to Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc., Attn: Investor Relations, 929 North Front Street, Wilmington, North Carolina 28401, telephone: (910) 558-7585.

PPD and its directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from PPD’s stockholders with respect to the special meeting of shareholders that will be held to consider the proposed merger. Information about PPD’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of PPD’s common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for the company’s 2011 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2011. Shareholders may obtain additional information regarding the interests of PPD and its directors and executive officers in the proposed merger, which may be different than those of the company’s shareholders generally, by reading the proxy statement and other relevant documents regarding the proposed merger, when filed with the SEC.

IntriCon (IIN) to Become Supplier of Hearing Aids to hi HealthInnovationsTM, A UnitedHealth Group Business

IntriCon Corporation (NASDAQ: IIN), a designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of miniature and micro-miniature body-worn devices, today announced it has entered into a manufacturing agreement to become hi HealthInnovations’ supplier of hearing aids.

hi HealthInnovations, a UnitedHealth Group [NYSE: UNH] business, today launched a suite of high-tech, lower-cost hearing devices for the 36 million Americans with hearing loss. An estimated 75 percent of people who can benefit from hearing devices do not use them, largely due to the high cost.

hi HealthInnovations will offer consumers technically advanced hearing aids, including those based on IntriCon’s new APT™ Open in-the-canal (ITC) hearing aid platform.

“We’re thrilled to be chosen to work with hi HealthInnovations to deliver high-quality hearing aids at affordable prices to an expanded population,” said Mark S. Gorder, president and chief executive officer of IntriCon. “Research has shown that there are considerable negative social, psychological, cognitive and health effects associated with untreated hearing loss. What’s troubling is that many people are reluctant to seek help due to the considerable costs of hearing aids.

“IntriCon has a proven track record of cost-effectively developing hearing aids that bring proprietary enhancements to the marketplace. We’re excited to join forces with hi HealthInnovations and help this underserved segment of the population.”

Said Lisa Tseng, MD, CEO of hi HealthInnovations, “We evaluated several potential partners and selected IntriCon because of the innovations they’ve brought to hearing aids over the years, their history of success as an OEM partner with other large companies and their ability to scale manufacturing effectively.”

Gorder indicated that the company has devoted considerable time and resources over the last two quarters securing the agreement and preparing for the program’s launch. This has had an adverse impact on financial performance in 2011. IntriCon expects to realize meaningful revenue from this program beginning in the 2012 first quarter.

“hi HealthInnovations’s confidence in our capabilities and technology validate the strategic decisions we’ve made over the past five years,” said Gorder. “We knew that a new distribution model in hearing health was needed and that it would require an OEM partner with the ability to cost-effectively manufacture high-quality, technically advanced products. hi HealthInnovations had the foresight and vision to make this happen, and we’re excited to be supporting them.”

About IntriCon Corporation

Headquartered in Arden Hills, Minn., IntriCon Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and distributes miniature and micro-miniature body-worn devices. The company is focused on three key markets: medical, hearing health, and professional audio communications. IntriCon has facilities in the United States, Asia and Europe. The company’s common stock trades under the symbol “IIN” on the NASDAQ Global Market. For more information about IntriCon, visit www.intricon.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this release and in IntriCon’s other public filings and releases that are not historical facts or that include forward-looking terminology are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be affected by known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond IntriCon’s control, and may cause IntriCon’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, performance and achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and are detailed from time to time in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, regardless of whether new information becomes available, future developments occur or otherwise.