Avicena To Present At Merriman Curhan Ford & Co.'s Investor Summit 2006

Palo Alto, CA, September 8, 2006 — The Avicena Group, Inc. (OTCBB: AVGO) (Avicena), a developer of novel pharmaceutical and therapeutic products, today announced that Belinda Tsao-Nivaggioli, Ph.D., Avicena's chief executive officer, will deliver a corporate presentation at the Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. Investor Summit. The conference will be held September 18 - 20, 2006, at the Mark Hopkins InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco, CA.

Dr. Tsao-Nivaggioli's presentation will take place at 11:15 a.m. (local time) on Monday, September 18 in the California Room. The presentation will provide an overview of the company's drug development pipeline as well as its dermaceutical products. A live webcast and 30-day archive of the presentation can be accessed at www.avicenagroup.com.

ABOUT AVICENA
Based in Palo Alto, CA, Avicena is a biotechnology company that seeks to develop and commercialize therapeutic products that regulate the critical energy processes which occur within human cells. Avicena's focus is on the development of pharmaceutical products to treat patients with rare diseases (orphan drugs), as well as dermaceutical products. To date, the company has advanced certain compounds for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) into Phase III trials and treatments for Huntington's disease (HD) into Phase II development. Having completed Phase II trials, the company is now considering a Phase III trial for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

SAFE HARBOR
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, management's current expectations, plans and strategies, and anticipated financial results, all of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Many of these risks are beyond our ability to control or predict. See "Risk Factors" in the company's prospectus for a discussion of such risks, including the company's need for additional funds, the company's dependence on a limited number of therapeutic compounds, the early state of the products the company is developing, uncertainties relating to clinical trials and regulatory reviews, competition and dependence on collaborative partners, the company's ability to avoid infringement of the patent rights of others, and the company's ability to obtain adequate patent protection and to enforce these rights. Because of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Avicena does not undertake any obligation to update or review any such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.