Tekelec Board Member Robert Adams Not Standing for Re-Election; Hubert de Pesquidoux Nominated to Board of Directors

MORRISVILLE, NC, Apr 20 (MARKET WIRE) --
Tekelec (NASDAQ: TKLC), the network signaling, mobile messaging and
performance management company, today announced that Board of Directors
member Robert Adams will not be standing for re-election at the Company's
upcoming May 15 Annual Shareholders' Meeting. Adams joined the Company's
Board in 1991, and during his tenure on the Board the Company grew from a
largely U.S. based equipment supplier to a global leader in core
multimedia session control and network intelligence selling into over 100
countries.

"I want to thank Bob for his many years of valuable service to Tekelec and
his contributions to Tekelec's success during his long tenure on the
Board. We wish him great success in his future endeavors," said Mark A.
Floyd, chairman of Tekelec's board of directors.

Tekelec then announced that Hubert de Pesquidoux, the former chief
financial officer (CFO) of Alcatel-Lucent and president of the Enterprise
Business Group of Alcatel-Lucent, has been nominated by the Board to stand
for election at the upcoming Annual Meeting.

Prior to his most recent positions, de Pesquidoux was a member of the
Alcatel Executive Committee and held several executive positions at
Alcatel, including: executive vice president; president of Alcatel North
America; chief operating officer (COO) of Alcatel North America; chief
executive officer (CEO) of Alcatel Canada; and CFO of Alcatel USA. He
first joined Alcatel in 1991.

De Pesquidoux holds a master's degree in law and a master's degree in
business from the Institute for Political Studies (Sciences Po) in Paris
and a DESS in Finance from Paris Dauphine University.

"I believe Hubert will make an excellent addition to the Board and that
his substantial financial, technical and international experience will be
of great benefit to Tekelec going forward if he is elected at the upcoming
Annual Meeting," said Mark Floyd.

Important Additional Information

In connection with the Company's 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, on
April 17, 2009, the Company filed a proxy statement with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") and began mailing the proxy
statement and proxy card to shareholders entitled to vote at the Annual
Meeting. The proxy statement and other documents relating to the Annual
Meeting can be obtained free of charge from the Commission's website at
www.sec.gov, from the Company's website at www.tekelec.com, or by written
request to Tekelec, 5200 Paramount Parkway, Morrisville, North Carolina
27560, Attention: Corporate Secretary.

About Tekelec

Tekelec, a global leader in core multimedia session control and network
intelligence, ensures scalable, secure and highly available
communications. The company's market-leading signaling solutions enable
the interworking of different network applications, technologies and
protocols, providing a smooth transition to next-generation networks.
Tekelec has more than 20 offices around the world serving customers in
more than 100 countries, with corporate headquarters located near
Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, N.C., U.S.A. For more information,
please visit www.tekelec.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements made in this press release are forward-looking, reflect
the Company's current intent, belief or expectations and involve certain
risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual future performance may
differ materially from such expectations as a result of important risk
factors, which include, in addition to those identified in the Company's
2008 Form 10-K and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the effect of the current or escalating economic crisis
including the impact of credit availability and currency fluctuations on
overall telecommunications spending by our customers, the current or
further detrimental changes in general economic, social, or political
conditions in the countries in which we operate, the timeliness and
functional competitiveness of our product releases, our ability to
maintain OEM, partner, and vendor support and supply relationships, our
ability to compete with other manufacturers that have lower cost bases
than ours and/or are partially supported by foreign governments or employ
other unfair trade practices, and changes in the market price of the
Company's common stock. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly
update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Mike Gallentine
Director, Investor Relations
(o) 919.461.6825
Email Contact

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