Noven's Chief Technical Officer to Present at Novartis Menopause Symposium

NOVEN'S CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER TO PRESENT
AT NOVARTIS MENOPAUSE SYMPOSIUM

Noven's Juan Mantelle to Address History and Science
of Transdermal Drug Delivery

MIAMI, FL. - August 17, 2001 - Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVN) today announced that Juan Mantelle, Noven's Vice President & Chief Technical Officer, will be a featured speaker at "Size Matters", a menopause therapy symposium sponsored by Novartis Pharma AG. The symposium will be held September 23, 2001, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and is part of the 3rd Amsterdam Menopause Symposium.

Mr. Mantelle's presentation, entitled "Innovative Technology for Menopause", will address the science and history of transdermal drug delivery, with special emphasis on Estradot^®, the smallest transdermal estrogen system in the world.

Mr. Mantelle has nearly 20 years experience in the development of transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery systems, and has led Noven's research and development efforts since 1990. At Noven, he supervised the development of the Vivelle^®, Menorest^®, Vivelle-Dot™, Estradot^®, CombiPatch™, Estalis^®, DentiPatch^® and MethyPatch^® product lines, as well as a range of other products in Noven's product development pipeline. Previously, he was Senior Research Engineer for Key Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was instrumental in the development of Nitro-Dur^®, an innovative transdermal nitroglycerine system that became one of Schering-Plough's first $100 million products.

Developed and manufactured by Noven, Estradot^® is licensed by Novartis Pharma AG in all countries outside of the U.S. and Japan. Estradot^® was recently approved for marketing in The Netherlands, which is acting as the Reference Member State for the Mutual Recognition Procedure of the European Union. In the U.S., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Noven market the product as Vivelle-Dot™ through Novogyne Pharmaceuticals, their jointly-owned women's health company.

About Noven
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc., headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a leader in the development of transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery technologies and products. With a range of commercialized products and products in development, Noven is committed to becoming the world's premier developer, manufacturer and marketer of transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery systems. For additional information, see www.noven.com.

Investor & Media Contact:
Joseph C. Jones
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(305) 253-1916

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