I need to find information on a new drug being released this year by a
pharmaceutical company that helps with sleep.  It's in the same class
as Ambien (zolpidem) and Sonata (zaleplan).   The name of this new
drug sounds like "Noroplene" but I'm having a hard time finding
anything about it.

I believe the name you're remembering is "Neurocrine" (pronounced
"noor-oh-creen"), which is the name of the pharmaceutical company. The
drug is called indiplon. Like Ambien and Sonata, indiplon is a
non-benzodiazepine sleep-promoting drug that targets a specific site
of the GABA-A receptor.

"Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBIX - News) and Pfizer Inc
today announced a global agreement for the exclusive worldwide
development and commercialization of indiplon, Neurocrine's Phase III
compound for the treatment of insomnia... Indiplon, which Neurocrine
licensed from DOV Pharmaceuticals, is a non-benzodiazepine that acts
on a specific site of the GABA-A receptor. Indiplon is being studied
in both immediate release and modified release formulations to address
the problems of sleep initiation and maintenance as well as middle of
the night awakenings. Data have shown that indiplon is both
efficacious and well tolerated in achieving rapid sleep induction
without next-day residual effects... Indiplon has been shown to
address the unmet needs of patients who can't fall asleep as well as
those who wake in the night. Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. is a
product-based biopharmaceutical company focused on neurological and
endocrine diseases and disorders."

Yahoo! Finance
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021219/nyth084_1.html

"Neurocrine's compound, indiplon (NBI-34060), is a non benzodiazipine
sleep-promoting drug that produces its effects by enhancing the action
of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. To achieve this, indiplon
acts as an agonist at specific sites on the GABA-A receptor. Like
Ambien and Sonata it has shown specific binding for BZ1 or Alpha1 of
the GABA-A receptor and is therefore different from the classical
benzodiazepines. This receptor specificity is thought to minimize the
unwanted side effects associated with the benzodiazepine compounds.
Indiplon has been shown to be the most potent for this specific ligand
with binding characteristics 10 and 50 times greater than Ambien and
Sonata, respectively... Neurocrine is developing indiplon to serve as
the complete sleep solution for all insomnia patients: for sleep
initiation, night awakenings and total sleep maintenance. We are
developing two formulations of indiplon, an immediate release (IR)
formulation and a modified release (MR) formulation, to address these
varying needs of the insomnia population."

Neurocrine Biosciences
http://www.neurocrine.com/html/clin_insomnia.html

"Neurocrine Biosciences yesterday landed a deal worth up to $400
million to share rights to an experimental insomnia drug with Pfizer,
the world's largest pharmaceutical company... If approved, Indiplon
will compete with already existing sleeping pills, such as French
company Sanofi-Synthelabo's best seller, Ambien... The ultimate value
of Neurocrine's Pfizer deal will climb if and when the biotech wins
approval for Indiplon. Indiplon is being tested in final, Phase 3
clinical trials, and Neurocrine hopes to apply to the Food and Drug
Administration for approval late next year. The FDA could take up to a
year to complete its review."

San Diego Union-Tribune
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/biotech/20021220-9999_1b20neuro.html

Search terms:

sedative
hypnotic
non-benzodiazapine
ambien
sonata
neurocrine
indiplon

I am confident that this is the drug you're looking for. If I am in
error, please submit a clarification request before rating my answer,
and I will resume the search.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Wow - this answer really exceeded my expectations!   Thanks for your help!