Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. Announces Appointment of Dr. Bill Aurora as Vice President, Medical Affairs

SAN DIEGO, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) today announced that Dr. Bill Aurora has joined the company as Vice President, Medical Affairs.

"We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Bill Aurora to the Neurocrine team as our Vice President, Medical Affairs," said Kevin Gorman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurocrine Biosciences. "Bill's experience in medical affairs and scientific exchange and outreach coupled with his extensive network and influence with psychiatric and neurological physicians will be of utmost importance as we evolve into a commercial organization."

Prior to joining Neurocrine, Dr. Aurora was Vice President, Global Center for Scientific Affairs at Merck. Prior to Merck, he spent twelve years at Amgen most recently as the Vice President of Global Scientific Affairs where he lead the Regional Medical Liaisons, Medical Communications, Medical Information, Medical Writing, and Scientific Affairs Training and Development groups across therapeutic areas and geographies. Bill has also held positions at Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb. Bill received his B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Texas at Austin, his Doctor of Pharmacy and Clinical Residency in Psychopharmacy from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is also Board Certified in Psychiatric Pharmacy Practice (BCPP).

Neurocrine also announced the grant of an inducement award to Dr. Aurora pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules. In connection with his employment with Neurocrine, Dr. Aurora was granted an inducement award consisting of a stock option to purchase 60,000 shares of Neurocrine common stock. The stock option will vest over a period of four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and the balance vesting each month over the remaining three years. Dr. Aurora also received 25,000 restricted stock units which vest in full after three years of continuous service. These awards are subject to the terms and conditions of Neurocrine's Inducement Plan. These awards were effective on May 1, 2015, the first business day of the first calendar month following the commencement of his employment with Neurocrine, and the stock option has an exercise price of $35.51 per share, which was the closing price of Neurocrine's common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on that date. The award was granted as an inducement material to Dr. Aurora's employment pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules.

About Neurocrine Biosciences

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. discovers and develops innovative and life-changing pharmaceuticals, in diseases with high unmet medical needs, through its novel R&D platform, focused on neurological and endocrine based diseases and disorders. The Company's two lead late-stage clinical programs are elagolix, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist for women's health that is partnered with AbbVie Inc., and NBI-98854, a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor for the treatment of movement disorders. Neurocrine intends to maintain certain commercial rights to its VMAT2 inhibitor for evolution into a fully-integrated pharmaceutical company.  Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. news releases are available through the Company's website via the internet at http://www.neurocrine.com.

In addition to historical facts, this press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are risks that regulatory submissions may not occur or be submitted in a timely manner; risks that our product candidates may not obtain regulatory approval or may be precluded from commercialization by the proprietary rights of third parties; and other risks described in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. Neurocrine disclaims any obligation to update the statements contained in this press release after the date hereof.

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SOURCE Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.