At the Company:
Akorn, Inc.
Arthur S. Przybyl
President and CEO
(847) 279-6100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Akorn, Inc. Announces Receipt of Request for Proposal (RFP)
For Calcium-DTPA and Zinc-DTPA

Buffalo Grove, IL, October 10, 2005 – Akorn, Inc. (AMEX: AKN) today announced that it has received a written RFP titled, “Acquisition of Ca-DTPA and Zn-DTPA to Support a Public Health Emergency Response to a Radiological Nuclear Event” from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The initial order quantities for each antidote product are 390,000 units of Ca-DTPA and 60,000 units of Zn-DTPA. The RFP also contains an option that may be exercised by the U.S. Government during a five-year period to purchase an additional one million units of DTPA.

Due to the urgent need of the U.S. Government to acquire and maintain Ca-DTPA and Zn-DTPA within the Strategic National Stockpile, Akorn will accelerate contract negotiations with the Government so that it can begin shipping both products in the fourth quarter 2005. Our due date to respond to the RFP is October 18, 2005. Akorn anticipates that it will receive the initial purchase order for 450,000 units of DTPA on or about November 15, 2005. The current, published Federal Supply Schedule price for each unit of product is $55.86.

Arthur S. Przybyl, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “By announcing its intent to purchase initial quantities of Ca-DTPA and Zn-DTPA, the United States Federal Government led by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) has taken an aggressive stance to proactively protect the American civilian population in the event of a radiological or nuclear incident. We look forward to finalizing negotiations with HHS in order to secure the initial purchase order and to supply these products where they belong, in our Country’s Strategic National Stockpile.”

About Akorn, Inc.

Akorn, Inc. manufactures and markets sterile specialty pharmaceuticals. Akorn has manufacturing facilities located in Decatur, Illinois and Somerset, New Jersey and markets and distributes an extensive line of hospital and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Additional information is available at the Company’s website at www.akorn.com.

Materials in this press release may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future steps we may take, prospective products, future performance or results of current and anticipated products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, and financial results.

Any or all of our forward-looking statements here or in other publications may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining our actual future results. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Our actual results may vary materially, and there are not guarantees about the performance of our stock.

Any forward-looking statements represent our expectations or forecasts only as of the date they were made and should not be relied upon as representing our expectations or forecasts as of any subsequent date. We undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, even if our expectations or forecasts change. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports filed with the SEC. In particular, you should read the discussion in the section entitled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as it may be updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. That discussion covers certain risks, uncertainties and possibly inaccurate assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. Such factors include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the resolution of the FDA compliance issues at our Decatur, Illinois manufacturing facility. Other factors besides those listed there could also adversely affect our results.