Biopharmaceuticals Mergers & Acquisitions

 News Release - September 28, 2006

Axonyx Stockholders Approve Merger with TorreyPines Therapeutics Inc.

Board of Directors Authorizes a 1:8 Reverse Stock Split

NEW YORK--(HSMN NewsFeed)--AXONYX Inc. (NASDAQ: AXYX ) announced today that the June 7, 2006 plan of merger, by and among Axonyx Inc., Autoban Acquisition Corp. and TorreyPines Therapeutics Inc., was approved by its stockholders at today's annual stockholder meeting.

At the stockholder meeting, Axonyx stockholders also approved several other proposals in connection with the merger, including the change of the company's name to "TorreyPines Therapeutics, Inc." and the reincorporation of the company as a Delaware company. The stockholders also authorized a reverse stock split of the company's common stock in a range of 1:5 to 1:10, with the exact split ratio to be determined by the Axonyx board of directors. At a board meeting that immediately followed the stockholder meeting, the board of directors set the ratio of the reverse stock split at 1:8, or 1 share of common stock for each 8 shares of common stock held by stockholders of record as of October 2, 2006.

The formal closing of the merger is expected to occur during the first week of October 2006 and thereafter the merged company is expected to trade on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol "TPTX".

About Axonyx

Axonyx Inc. is a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company engaged in the acquisition and development of proprietary pharmaceutical compounds for the treatment of CNS disorders. Axonyx currently has three compounds in development for Alzheimer's disease, namely Phenserine - a potential symptomatic and disease progression treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), Posiphen(TM) - a potential disease progression treatment for AD now in Phase I, and Bisnorcymserine (BNC) - a potential symptomatic treatment of severe AD now in pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) stage. Additional information can be found at www.axonyx.com.

About TorreyPines Therapeutics

TorreyPines Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops small molecule drugs to treat diseases and disorders of the central nervous system. Led by an accomplished management team, TorreyPines is leveraging novel drug targets and technologies to deliver new therapies for migraine; chronic pain, including neuropathic pain; and Alzheimer's disease. Its therapies are intended to offer significant advantages over current therapies. Further information is available at www.torreypinestherapeutics.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements or predictions. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the expected merger between Axonyx and TorreyPines Therapeutics Inc., expectations regarding advancement of the company's product candidates and management of the company's resources, and the potential of the company's product candidates to treat certain diseases and disorders. Such statements are subject to numerous factors, risks, and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from the combined company's current expectations. Actual results may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors. These and other risks which may impact management's expectations are described in greater detail in the registration statement on Form S-4, as amended, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Axonyx's other SEC reports, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Source: Axonyx

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