November 24, 2008. Sophia Antipolis, France. www.nicox.com

NicOx S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris: COX) today announced that the thirdpivotal phase 3 study for naproxcinod in patients with OA of the hip showeda highly statistically significant result (p < 0.001) on all three co-primary efficacy endpoints of the trial. Naproxcinod 750 mg bid showed thesame gastrointestinal (GI) adverse event rate and a similar blood pressureprofile to placebo. Naproxcinod is the most advanced compound in a novelclass of anti-inflammatory agents known as Cyclooxygenase-Inhibiting NitricOxide Donators (CINODs).

Following the positive results from the 301 and 302 studies in patientswith OA of the knee, 303 represents the third phase 3 study for naproxcinodto achieve p < 0.001 on all three co-primary efficacy endpoints. The 303study is also the final pivotal trial that NicOx plans to include in thesubmission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) in mid-2009.

"This study has demonstrated clear-cut efficacy for naproxcinod 750 mg bidin hip OA, in addition to providing reassuring blood pressure and safetydata," said Thomas J. Schnitzer, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine atNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who advised NicOx onthe design and analysis of the trial. "Meeting the primary endpoints ofthis study is a significant achievement, considering the difficultly incontrolling the symptoms of hip OA patients. Few studies with other anti-inflammatory agents have focused only on people with hip OA, in partbecause of the increased difficulty in demonstrating efficacy in thispopulation compared to knee OA. Additionally, the fact that the bloodpressure data for naproxcinod and placebo were similar at all time pointsis also encouraging, as there is a definite need for new anti-inflammatoryagents that do not increase blood pressure."

Results clearly support naproxcinod's non-detrimental blood pressureprofile

The blood pressure data for naproxcinod 750 mg bid were consistent withthose obtained in the 301 and 302 studies. Blood pressure was measuredusing standardized and controlled office blood pressure measurements (OBPM)at baseline and at weeks 2, 6 and 13 (see NOTE). At all time points, thepatients treated with naproxcinod 750 mg bid showed a very similar bloodpressure profile to those on placebo. In addition, naproxcinod 750 mg bidshowed a clear reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP andDBP) compared to naproxen 500 mg bid at all time points. No stand alonestatistical analysis of the blood pressure data from the 303 study was pre-specified.

As planned, NicOx will pool the blood pressure data from the three phase 3studies (301, 302 and 303) according to a prospectively designed protocolthat has been submitted to the FDA. The Company will disclose the top-lineresults of the pre-specified statistical analysis on the pooled data in thecoming weeks.

Naproxcinod and placebo show the same gastrointestinal (GI) adverse eventrate

Naproxcinod 750 mg bid showed good overall safety and tolerability. Thepercentage of patients who experienced one or more GI adverse events wasthe same for placebo and naproxcinod 750 mg bid at 15.5%, compared to 19.2%for naproxen 500 mg bid. In terms of the percentage of patients whoexperienced at least one adverse event overall, this was lower fornaproxcinod 750 mg than naproxen 500 mg bid. There was not a single seriouscardiovascular or serious GI adverse event in the naproxcinod arm duringthe 13 weeks of the 303 study, in contrast to the placebo and naproxen 500mg bid arms.

Pascal Pfister MD, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research andDevelopment at NicOx, commented: "We believe these are extremely goodresults, with naproxcinod demonstrating clear efficacy in this difficulttype of osteoarthritis patients and showing the same GI adverse event rateas placebo. The blood pressure data are consistent with previous studiesand we are keenly awaiting the important results of the pre-definedstatistical analysis in the next few weeks, following the pooling of the301, 302 and 303 blood pressure data. We are confident that these resultswill clearly demonstrate naproxcinod's non-detrimental blood pressureprofile, in contrast to naproxen."

Design and results of the 303 study

The 303 study was a 13-week, double-blind, placebo and naproxen controlledtrial in patients with OA of the hip. 810 patients were enrolled at 120clinical centers in the United States, Canada and Europe. Eligible patientshad a diagnosis of primary osteoarthritis of the hip of at least threemonths in duration and were randomized on a 2:2:1 basis to receivenaproxcinod 750 mg bid, placebo bid and naproxen 500 mg bid, respectively.

The three co-primary endpoints of the study compared the efficacy ofnaproxcinod 750 mg bid to placebo, in terms of the mean change betweenbaseline and week 13 in the following scores: the WOMAC(TM) pain subscale,the WOMAC(TM) function subscale and the subject's overall rating of diseasestatus. The results demonstrated that naproxcinod was superior to placebowith high statistical significance (p < 0.001) on all three of these co-primary endpoints. These were the same endpoints as those used in the 301and 302 phase 3 studies. No statistical comparison was made betweennaproxen 500 mg bid and the other two arms on the efficacy endpoints, dueto the 2:2:1 randomization in the study, although numerical data show thatnaproxcinod 750 mg bid behaved in a similar fashion to naproxen 500 mg bidon these efficacy scores. NicOx entered into a full-service agreement forthe conduct of the 303 study with Covance Inc., a global contract researchorganization (CRO).

NOTE: Office Blood Pressure Measurements (OBPMs) were performed by a healthcare professional during a patient's visit to the treatment center using astandard technique and equipment (i.e. a sphygmomanometer). OBPMs wereperformed in the morning and the time between intake of study-drug andmeasurement of OBPM was between 2 and 4 hours.

NicOx (Bloomberg: COX:FP, Reuters: NCOX.PA) is a product-drivenbiopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and futurecommercialization of investigational drugs for unmet medical needs. NicOxis applying its proprietary nitric oxide-donating technology to develop aninternal portfolio of New Chemical Entities (NCEs) in the therapeutic areasof inflammatory and cardio-metabolic disease.

Resources are focused on the development and pre-commercializationactivities for naproxcinod, a proprietary NCE and the first compound in theCyclooxygenase-Inhibiting Nitric Oxide-Donating (CINOD) class of anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of the signs and symptoms ofosteoarthritis. Naproxcinod has completed three pivotal phase 3 studieswith positive results and the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) tothe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is projected for mid-2009.

Beyond naproxcinod, NicOx has a pipeline containing multiple nitric oxide-donating NCEs, which are in development internally and with partners,including Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co., Inc., for the treatment of prevalentand underserved diseases, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, widespreadeye diseases and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

NicOx S.A. is headquartered in France and is listed on the NYSE EuronextParis (Compartment B: Mid Caps).

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Althoughthe Company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions,these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks anduncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially fromthose anticipated in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion ofrisks and uncertainties which could cause actual results, financialcondition, performance or achievements of NicOx S.A. to differ from thosecontained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the RiskFactors ("Facteurs de Risque") section of the Document de Reference filedwith the AMF, which is available on the AMF website(http://www.amf-france.org) or on NicOx S.A.'s website(http://www.nicox.com).

CONTACTS: http://www.nicox.com

NicOx:

Karl Hanks Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communication

Tel +33 (0)4 97 24 53 42 - hanks@nicox.com

Media in the United States - FD

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Media in Europe - Citigate Dewe Rogerson

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NicOx S.A.,

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