Curis Compound, Hedgehog, Stimulates Blood Vessel Development Following Injury.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 2003

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) today announced that a Boston-based medical research group has demonstrated that a key signaling pathway, controlled by the Hedgehog protein, plays a crucial role in promoting the development of new blood vessels following tissue injury (deprivation of oxygen). The research points to potential therapeutic applications for the Hedgehog pathway in the treatment of a variety of vascular (blood vessel) disorders.

The scientific report, entitled "Postnatal Recapitulation of Embryonic Hedgehog Pathway in Response to Skeletal Muscle Ischemia," was published last week in the medical research journal Circulation. The research, conducted by Dr. Douglas Losordo and his colleagues at Saint Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, demonstrated that the Hedgehog pathway is activated after tissue damage and controls the formation of new blood vessels.

Dr. Lee Rubin, Chief Scientific Officer of Curis, commented, "This adds to a growing body of data demonstrating the key role that the Hedgehog pathway plays in tissue repair and the reestablishment of blood supply. Curis has recently developed drug-like small molecules that can either turn the Hedgehog pathway on or off. This strongly positions Curis in terms of developing drug candidates for disorders where one would want either to promote new blood vessel development, as in certain cardiovascular diseases, or where one would want to halt inappropriate blood vessel development, such as for macular degeneration or certain forms of cancer."

Daniel Passeri, Curis' President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "In addition to the significant therapeutic applications, this research validates Curis' core technological approach to drug development. The approach that certain pathways responsible for the initial formation of tissues and organs are reactivated later in adult life in response to stress, injury, or disease, has been reinforced by the recent study. By developing compounds that control these pathways, Curis has been able to assemble a substantial portfolio of drug candidates to treat a wide array of critical medical problems, including kidney disease, neurological disorders, cancer, and others."

About Curis, Inc.

Curis, Inc. is a therapeutic drug development company. The Company's technology focus is on regulatory pathways that control repair and regeneration. Curis' product development involves the use of proteins or small molecules to modulate these pathways. Curis has successfully used this technology and product development approach to produce several promising drug product candidates in the fields of kidney disease, neurological disorders, cancer, and alopecia (hair loss). For more information, please visit the Curis web site at www.curis.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements concerning Curis' or management's intentions, plans, expectations or predictions of future events are forward-looking statements. Such statements may contain the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "estimates" or similar expressions. Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Actual results can be affected by, among other things, uncertainties relating to product development, clinical trials, regulatory actions or delays, the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection, changes in or an inability to execute Curis' realigned business strategy and other risk factors identified in Curis' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Curis disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.