Bentley Board Approves Spin-off of Drug Delivery Business

  
    
  
  
    
      The board of directors of Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BNT) 
      today approved the spin-off of its drug delivery business into a new 
      publicly traded company to be called CPEX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CPEX is 
      a drug delivery company involved in the business of development, 
      licensing and commercialization of pharmaceutical products utilizing 
      validated drug delivery technology. The Bentley board also set the date 
      for stockholders to vote on the proposed acquisition of Bentley by Teva 
      Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
    
    
      Spin-off of CPEX
    
    
      As part of its approval, the Bentley board authorized a dividend on its 
      common stock of one CPEX share for every 10 shares of Bentley common 
      stock, and established the close of business on June 20, 2008 as the 
      record date for stockholders entitled to receive the distribution of 
      CPEX shares. The distribution is expected to take place after the close 
      of business on June 30, 2008.
    
    
      The dividend of CPEX common stock will be issued in book-entry form 
      only, which means that no physical CPEX stock certificates will be 
      issued. No fractional shares of CPEX common stock will be issued. 
      Instead, fractional shares will be aggregated and sold on behalf of all 
      affected stockholders of record, who then will receive the pro rata net 
      cash value of such fractional shares. As a result of the spin-off, 
      Bentley will no longer own any shares of CPEX common stock.
    
    
      On the distribution date, Bentley, with the assistance of American Stock 
      Transfer and Trust Company, the distribution agent, will electronically 
      issue shares of CPEX common stock to stockholders of record or their 
      broker, bank or other nominee on their behalf by way of direct 
      registration in book-entry form. Bentley stockholders will not be 
      required to make any payment, surrender or exchange their shares of 
      Bentley common stock or take any other action to receive shares of CPEX 
      common stock. For additional information, stockholders should contact 
      American Stock Transfer and Trust Company by e-mail at [e-mail] 
      or by phone at 800-937-5449.
    
    
      The distribution will be more fully described in the information 
      statement that, prior to the distribution date, will be mailed to 
      stockholders of record on the record date.
    
    
      Bentley expects a “when issued” 
      public market for CPEX common stock to begin on or about June 18, 2008 
      on the NASDAQ Capital Market (NASDAQ) under the symbol “CPEXV.” 
      Following the spin-off, “regular way” 
      trading of CPEX common stock is expected to start on July 1, 2008 under 
      the ticker symbol “CPEX.” 
      Bentley’s common stock will continue to trade 
      on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BNT.”
    
    
      If Bentley stockholders sell shares of their Bentley common stock in the “regular 
      way” market after the record date but prior 
      to the distribution date, they may also be selling the right to receive 
      shares of CPEX common stock in connection with those shares. Investors 
      should consult with their financial advisors about selling their shares 
      of Bentley common stock on or before the distribution date.
    
    
      Special Meeting to Approve Merger
    
    
      As previously announced on March 31, 2008, Bentley entered into a merger 
      agreement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA), an 
      Israeli corporation, and Beryllium Merger Corporation, a wholly owned, 
      newly formed subsidiary of Teva. Pursuant to the terms of the merger 
      agreement, Beryllium will merge with and into Bentley, and as a result, 
      Bentley will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Teva. The board of 
      Bentley set Tuesday, July 22, 2008, as the meeting date for stockholders 
      to vote on this merger. The special stockholders meeting is scheduled to 
      start at 10:00 a.m. ET at the Hilton Garden Inn, 100 High Street, 
      Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
    
    
      Bentley previously set the close of business on June 2, 2008, as the 
      record date for determining stockholders who will be entitled to vote on 
      the merger. The company plans to begin mailing the proxy statement on or 
      about June 16, 2008 to all Bentley stockholders of record as of the 
      record date.
    
    
      More information can be found at www.bentleypharm.com.
    
    
      About Bentley
    
    
      Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today is a specialty pharmaceutical 
      company focused on advanced drug delivery technologies and generic 
      pharmaceutical products. Bentley manufactures and markets a growing 
      portfolio of generic and branded generic pharmaceuticals in Europe for 
      the treatment of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infectious and 
      central nervous system diseases through its subsidiaries -- Laboratorios 
      Belmac, Laboratorios Davur, Laboratorios Rimafar and Bentley 
      Pharmaceuticals Ireland. Bentley also manufactures and markets active 
      pharmaceutical ingredients through its subsidiary, Bentley API. Bentley’s 
      proprietary drug delivery technologies enhance the absorption of 
      pharmaceutical compounds across various membranes. This drug delivery 
      business will be transferred into a subsidiary, CPEX Pharmaceuticals, 
      Inc., which will then be spun off to Bentley’s 
      stockholders.
    
    
      Important Information
    
    
      In connection with the merger, Bentley has prepared a preliminary proxy 
      statement for its stockholders and filed it with the Securities and 
      Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). 
      The proxy statement contains information about Bentley, the merger and 
      related matters. STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY 
      STATEMENT CAREFULLY WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE, AS IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT 
      INFORMATION THAT STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING A DECISION 
      ABOUT THE MERGER. In addition to receiving the proxy statement from 
      Bentley by mail, stockholders will be able to obtain the proxy 
      statement, as well as other filings containing information about 
      Bentley, without charge, from the SEC’s 
      website at www.sec.gov or, without 
      charge, from Bentley’s website at www.bentleypharm.com 
      or by directing such request to Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bentley 
      Park, 2 Holland Way, Exeter, NH 03833, Attention: Richard Lindsay, Chief 
      Financial Officer.
    
    
      Bentley and its directors and executive officers and other persons may 
      be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect 
      of the merger. Information regarding Bentley’s 
      directors and executive officers is available in Bentley’s 
      2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 
      17, 2008. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy 
      solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, 
      by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy 
      statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the 
      SEC when they become available.
    
    
      Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities Litigation 
      Reform Act of 1995:
    
    
      This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, 
      without limitation, statements regarding the merger agreement entered 
      into between Bentley and Teva. These forward-looking statements are 
      subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual 
      results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by 
      such statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, but 
      are not limited to, risks associated with the following: approval of the 
      merger by the stockholders of Bentley, product approvals, changes in 
      third-party reimbursement and government mandates that impact 
      pharmaceutical pricing, competition from other manufacturers of generic 
      pharmaceuticals, intellectual property litigation, the efficacy and 
      safety of Bentley’s products, international 
      operations, and other uncertainties detailed under “Risk 
      Factors” in Bentley’s 
      2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other subsequent periodic 
      reports filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s 
      Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). 
      Bentley cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the 
      forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements 
      speak only as of the date of this document, and Bentley undertakes no 
      obligation to update or revise the statements, except as may be required 
      by law.