Aaipharma Inc (1013243) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Friday, December 31, 2004

Exhibit 99.1

2320 Scientific Park Drive
Wilmington, NC 28405
Nasdaq: AAII

Contact:
Matthew Czajkowski
Executive Vice President and CFO
910-254-7838

aaiPharma Announces Delay in 10-K Filing and
Non-compliance with Nasdaq Listing Requirement
Other Matters Reported in Filings with SEC

Wilmington, N.C., March 16, 2005

- aaiPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: AAII) today announced that the Company has filed a Notification of Late Filing Report on Form 12b-25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission reporting that it will not file its 2004 Annual Report on Form 10-K today, the deadline for filing that report. The Company is striving to file its 2004 Form 10-K as soon as possible. However, the Company did not represent in its Form 12b-25 filing that it would be able to file its 2004 Form 10-K by March 31, which is required by SEC rules to obtain a 15-day extension of the filing deadline, because the Company believes it will not be able to file its 2004 Form 10-K by that date.

As a result of its failure to file the 2004 Form 10-K by March 16, 2005, the Company is no longer in compliance with conditions for the continued listing of the Company’s common stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market under Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14) and under the terms of the June 2004 decision of a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel that had permitted continued listing of the Company’s common stock. The Company has notified Nasdaq of its violation of these conditions and has requested that its common stock be permitted to continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market if the Company files its 2004 Form 10-K by April 30, 2005. April 30, 2005 is the extended deadline that would have been applicable to the Company’s filing of management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting and the related attestation report of its independent registered public accountants under an SEC order issued in November 2004 and applicable to smaller issuers like the Company if the Company were to have filed its 2004 Form 10-K by March 16, 2005. As indicated in the Company’s Notification of Late Filing, delay in the completion of management’s assessment of internal control is a critical reason preventing the Company from timely filing its 2004 Form 10-K. Notwithstanding the request to Nasdaq, Nasdaq may determine to immediately suspend trading and cease listing of the Company’s common stock.

For information about other significant developments and issues that have affected and are affecting the Company, including preliminary 2004 financial results, the status of the Company’s exploration of potential asset sales, liquidity issues, the need for a financial restructuring, and identified material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, please refer to the Company’s Notification of Late Filing Report on Form 12b-25 and Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 16, 2005.