Bentley Pharmaceuticals Inc, a technology based specialty pharmaceutical and drug delivery company with a growing branded and generic product line in Europe, today announced that the Spanish Ministry of Health has granted its Laboratorios Rimafar subsidiary approval to market a generic version of paroxetine. Paroxetine belongs to a class of orally administered antidepressant compounds used for treatment of depression, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive and panic disorders and is marketed in the U.S. under the trade name of Paxil by GlaxoSmithKline.

The Company previously announced a similar approval (October 2002) for its Laboratorios Davur subsidiary. Both subsidiaries expect to launch these generic versions in Spain during May of this year. According to the IMS, the annual market for antidepressants in Spain, is approximately $394 million and is growing at a rate of 16% annually. Paroxetine has approximately 27% of the market share in Spain with annual sales of approximately $108 million and is growing at a rate of 9% over the trailing twelve months.

James R. Murphy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bentley Pharmaceuticals, commented, "This approval of paroxetine is consistent with our strategy to pioneer the expansion of generic pharmaceuticals in Spain. This same strategy propelled our Laboratorios Davur to grow at an annual rate of 87% over the past year, and we look forward to similar growth from our newest subsidiary Laboratorios Rimafar, as we continue to pursue new market opportunities."

Murphy continued, "We are now seeking to expand our pharmaceutical business into other European countries and international markets including the United States. We expect the combination of our expansion into new geographies and recent regulatory approvals to drive growth in our pharmaceutical product sales business."