Penwest First Quarter 2009 Financial Results Conference Call

DANBURY, Conn., April 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.
(Nasdaq:PPCO) will conduct a conference call on Thursday, May 7, 2009, at 11:00
a.m. EDT to review its financial results for the first quarter 2009, which will
be released earlier that day, as well as operational developments at the
Company.

The conference call will include remarks by Jennifer Good, President and Chief
Executive Officer, and Frank Muscolo, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer.

Domestic Telephone Number: 888-277-5064
International Telephone Number: 816-650-7863
The conference ID is "97026654"
Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The conference call
will also be accessible live and as a replay on the Investor Relations section
of the Penwest Web site at www.penwest.com.

About Penwest Pharmaceuticals

Penwest is a drug development company focused on identifying and developing
products that address unmet medical needs, primarily for rare disorders of the
nervous system. Penwest is currently developing A0001, a coenzyme Q analog drug
candidate for inherited mitochondrial respiratory chain diseases. Penwest is
also applying its drug delivery technologies and drug formulation expertise to
the formulation of product candidates under licensing collaborations with
partners.

Forward-Looking Statements

The matters discussed herein contain forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, which may cause the actual results in future periods to
be materially different from any future performance suggested herein. For this
purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical
fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the
foregoing, the words, "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends,"
"potential," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially
include risks relating to the commercial success of Opana ER, including our
reliance on Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the commercial success of Opana ER and
risks of generic competition, the need for capital; regulatory risks relating to
drugs in development, including the timing and outcome of regulatory submissions
and regulatory actions; uncertainty of success of collaborations; the timing of
clinical trials; whether the results of clinical trials will warrant further
clinical trials, warrant submission of an application for regulatory approval
of, or warrant the regulatory approval of, the product that is the subject of
the trial; whether the patents and patent applications owned by us will protect
the Company's products and technology; actual and potential competition; and
other risks as set forth under the caption Risk Factors in Penwest's Annual
Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March
16, 2009, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of
the date of the statements made. Penwest disclaims any intention or obligation
to update any forward-looking statements.

TIMERx is a registered trademark of Penwest. All other trademarks referenced
herein are the property of their respective owners.

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CONTACT: Kekst and Company
John Patteson
(212) 521-4800