Anadys Announces Key Hires to Expand Screening and Clinical Capabilities; Appointments To Bolster Both Research and Development Capabilities.

Business Editors & Health/Medical

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SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--May 22, 2002

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Anadys") announced today the appointments of Bin Li, Ph.D. to the position of Associate Director, Screening Sciences, Lisa Bauman to the position of Associate Director, Clinical Operations, and Leo Kirkovsky, Ph.D. to the position of Group Leader, Metabolic Studies. These appointments underscore Anadys' commitment to its chemical compound screening technologies and clinical development capabilities.

Dr. Li is head of the Screening Sciences group and is responsible for uHTS-ATLAS(TM) and SCAN(TM), two of Anadys' proprietary affinity screening technologies. uHTS-ATLAS(TM) is Anadys' affinity based ultra high-throughput screening platform, capable of screening targets of both known and unknown function. Prior to joining Anadys, Dr. Li was the Director, Lead Discovery at X-Ceptor Therapeutics. From 1998-2001 Dr. Li was at Agouron, and later Warner-Lambert and Pfizer as Group Leader of Biochemistry. Dr. Li held various scientific positions at Syntex and Roche. In 1990, Dr. Li received his Ph. D. in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University.

Ms. Bauman has joined Anadys as the Associate Director, Clinical Operations with responsibility for advancing Anadys' lead drug candidates through clinical trials. Two compounds, ANA245 and ANA246, are for the treatment of Hepatitis C with ANA245 expected to begin human testing later this year. Prior to joining Anadys, Ms. Bauman held various clinical roles of increasing responsibility at Agouron Pharmaceuticals (later Warner-Lambert and Pfizer), with her most recent position being Associate Director, Development Operations. Ms. Bauman has also held clinical development positions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Ms. Bauman received her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 1987 from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Kirkovsky is Group Leader, Metabolic Studies for Anadys. Dr. Kirkovsky joins Anadys from Biogen where he was most recently a Senior Scientist. Dr. Kirkovsky held previous positions at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Kirkovsky received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Moscow State University in 1990, and his M.S. in Physical Chemistry (Summa Cum Laude) from the Mendeleev's Moscow Chemical Technological Institute.

"These additions highlight our commitment to a fully integrated research and development operation," said Dr. Steve Worland, Chief Scientific Officer of Anadys. "The addition of Dr. Li will have an immediate impact on our screening technologies, including uHTS-ATLAS(TM). Dr. Li has a strong reputation for running HTS operations, and will be able to build on the recent technology and licensing milestones that we have achieved with uHTS-ATLAS(TM). Dr. Kirkovsky will be instrumental for the pre-clinical evaluation of our compounds moving into the clinic, and Ms. Bauman will use her considerable experience to help us manage our clinical trials."

About Anadys Pharmaceuticals

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Anadys" or the "Company") is a new generation drug discovery company committed to applying an integrated approach that combines biology and chemistry to develop new small molecule therapeutics. The Company is committed to developing novel powerful antibiotics and medicines to treat viral infections. To that end, Anadys has assembled and integrated a proprietary suite of technologies to identify novel targets (using GATE(TM) and Riboproteomics(TM)), screen them for small molecule effectors (uHTS-ATLAS(TM) and SCAN(TM)), and develop clinical candidates using its considerable capabilities in high-output medicinal chemistry. Anadys has a specific capability to exploit RNA-related targets and novel chemistries to find new medicines using its leadership position in Riboproteomics(TM). RNA-related targets have been validated with the approval of drugs such as neomycin, Zyvox(R), and Zithromax(R). Anadys intends to harness this integrated suite of technologies to propel a strong and continual pipeline of drug candidates into the clinic.

For more information, please visit www.anadyspharma.com.