Anadys Pharmaceuticals Strengthens Board of Directors with Addition of Douglas Williams, Ph.D.

SAN DIEGO -- Former Chief Technology Officer and Board Member of Immunex Adds High-Level Scientific and Business Expertise

E[acute accent]Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ANDS), a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel medicines to treat chronic viral hepatitis and bacterial infections, announced today the appointment of Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. E[acute accent]"We are pleased to add an individual of this high caliber to our Board of Directors with a proven track record in the industry," said Jason Fisherman, M.D., Anadys' Chairman of the Board. "Doug brings a broad range of pharmaceutical research, development and business experience to Anadys. His appointment complements our recent addition of Steven Holtzman to our Board and further positions Anadys to achieve its objective of becoming a leading franchise in the antiviral and antibacterial markets." E[acute accent]Dr. Williams is Chief Scientific Officer, Executive Vice President, Research and Development, and a member of the Board of Directors of Seattle Genetics, Inc. His experience includes more than 14 years at Immunex Corporation, most recently as Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and a member of Immunex's Board of Directors. He also served as Senior Vice President, Washington Site Leader and member of the Executive Committee for Amgen, Inc. when it acquired Immunex in 2002. E[acute accent]"Doug's experience and accomplishments throughout his career exemplifies our mission here at Anadys," said Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos, Ph.D., Anadys' President and Chief Executive Officer. "His contributions at Immunex ultimately accelerated him to a key executive position and helped establish the company as one of the dominant forces in biotechnology. We look forward to drawing from his expertise and insight as we strive for similar success at Anadys." E[acute accent]In addition to his roles with Anadys and Seattle Genetics, Dr. Williams serves on the Board of Directors of Array BioPharma and Genesis Research & Development. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Symphony Capital in New York. He holds a B.S. magna cum laude in Biological Sciences from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and a Ph.D. in Physiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Roswell Park Division. E[acute accent]"I am delighted to be joining the Board of Anadys and look forward to working closely with management and my fellow Board members," said Dr. Williams. "Anadys is a company with great prospects and talented people and I look forward to working with them to achieve their goal of creating and developing innovative medicines."

E[acute accent]About Anadys

E[acute accent]Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.anadyspharma.com) is a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing patient care by discovering, developing and commercializing novel small molecule, anti-infective medicines for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and bacterial infections. Anadys is advancing its anti-infective portfolio through the development of its two clinical programs, the isatoribine family of compounds including the oral prodrug ANA975 for the treatment of HCV, and ANA380 for the treatment of HBV. In addition, Anadys' anti-infective therapeutic platform is designed to advance a strong and continual pipeline of drug candidates into the clinic.

E[acute accent]Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements." Such statements include, but are not limited to, references to Anadys' plans to advance drug candidates through the clinic and into the marketplace, and Anadys' objective to become a leading franchise in the antiviral and antibacterial markets, as well as statements about Anadys' prospects and its ability to achieve the goal of developing innovative medicines. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results of Anadys Pharmaceuticals to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In particular, Anadys' results may be affected by competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, its effectiveness at managing its financial resources, its ability to successfully develop and market products, difficulties or delays in its clinical trials, difficulties or delays in manufacturing its clinical trials materials, the scope and validity of patent protection for its products, regulatory developments involving future products and its ability to obtain additional funding to support its operations. These and other factors that may cause actual results to differ are more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Anadys' Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Anadys is providing this information as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.