NewLink Genetics Announces 2011 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Conference Call and Webcast

AMES, Iowa, March 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewLink Genetics Corporation (Nasdaq:NLNK), today announced that financial results for the company's fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011 will be released after the market closes on Thursday, March 29, 2012. The NewLink management team will host a conference call discussing the company's financial results and recent developments on Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). The call can be accessed by dialing (877) 303-6919 (domestic) or (253) 237-1194 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the passcode 62462759. A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the call and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international), providing the passcode 62462759. The replay will be available for two weeks from the date of the live call.

The live, listen-only webcast of the conference call can be accessed by visiting the investors section of the NewLink website at http://investors.linkp.com/. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the company's website for two weeks following the call.

About NewLink Genetics Corporation

NewLink Genetics Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel immunotherapeutic products to improve cancer treatment options for patients and physicians. NewLink's portfolio includes biologic and small‑molecule immunotherapy product candidates intended to treat a wide range of oncology indications. NewLink's product candidates are designed with an objective to harness multiple components of the innate immune system to combat cancer, either as a monotherapy or in combination with current treatment regimens, without incremental toxicity. NewLink's lead product candidate, HyperAcute Pancreas cancer immunotherapy is being studied in a Phase 3 clinical trial in surgically‑resected pancreatic cancer patients (patient information is available at http://www.pancreaticcancer-clinicaltrials.com). This clinical trial is being performed under a Special Protocol Assessment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. NewLink and its collaborators have completed patient enrollment for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating its HyperAcute Lung cancer immunotherapy product candidate for non-small cell lung cancer and a Phase 2 clinical trial for its HyperAcute Melanoma cancer immunotherapy product candidate. NewLink also is developing d-1-methyltryptophan, or D-1MT, a small‑molecule, orally bioavailable product candidate from NewLink's proprietary indoleamine‑(2, 3)‑dioxygenase, or IDO, pathway inhibitor technology. Through NewLink's collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, NewLink is studying D-1MT in various chemotherapy and immunotherapy combinations in two Phase 1B/2 safety and efficacy clinical trials. For more information please visit www.linkp.com.

CONTACT: Gordon Link

         Chief Financial Officer

         515-598-2925

         glink@linkp.com