Curis Issued U.S. Patent Covering Hedgehog Pathway Agonists.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a therapeutic drug development company focusing on cancer, neurological and dermatological disease indications, today announced that it has been issued U.S. patent 7,115,653, entitled "Small Organic Molecule Regulators of Cell Proliferation." The claims of this patent cover specific small molecule compounds that are activators, or agonists, of the Hedgehog signaling pathway, as well as pharmaceutical compositions and preparations containing specific Hedgehog agonist compounds. Curis believes that the claims of this patent provide additional depth to its existing intellectual property position surrounding Hedgehog agonist compounds. The company previously received three patents, including: i) U.S. patent 6,683,192, issued in January 2004 with claims covering specific Hedgehog agonist compounds; ii) U.S. patent 6,613,798, issued in September 2003 with claims covering pharmaceutical compositions containing specific Hedgehog agonist compounds; and iii) U.S. patent 6,683,108, issued in January 2004 with claims covering methods of agonizing the Hedgehog pathway using specific Hedgehog agonist compounds.

Curis is developing systemically administered Hedgehog agonists for the treatment of neurological disorders in collaboration with Wyeth and topically applied Hedgehog agonists for the treatment of hair growth disorders with Procter & Gamble. The company has also retained rights to develop locally administered Hedgehog agonist therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

"Curis is dedicated to providing broad intellectual property protection for its drug development programs," said Dan Passeri, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curis. "We believe that the issuance of this patent provides additional protection for our existing patent claims surrounding our Hedgehog agonist compounds."

About the Wyeth Agreement

In January 2004, Curis entered into a collaboration agreement with Wyeth to continue the development of drug candidates for the treatment of neurological disorders. Under the terms of the collaboration, Wyeth paid Curis an up-front license fee and provided two years of initial research funding. In November 2005, Wyeth extended its research funding until February 2007. In addition to research funding, if clinical development of any Hedgehog agonist technology-based products is successful, Wyeth is obligated to pay Curis clinical milestone payments and royalties on product sales.

About the Procter & Gamble Curis Collaboration

In September 2005, Curis and Procter & Gamble entered into a research and development agreement to evaluate and develop potential treatments for hair growth disorders utilizing Curis's Hedgehog agonist technology. Future efforts may be expanded to address other skin disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, Curis has granted Procter & Gamble an exclusive, worldwide royalty-bearing license for the non-systemic, dermatological use of Curis's Hedgehog agonist technology, via topical administration. Curis has an option to co-develop a development candidate through Phase II clinical trials, should an investigational new drug application be filed with the FDA. Curis has retained rights to certain non-systemic applications of the Hedgehog agonist technology, specifically for local cardiovascular and ex vivo use. In addition, the company has also retained rights to veterinary applications of the technology, to which Procter & Gamble has the first option to negotiate a commercial arrangement.

About Curis, Inc.

Curis, Inc. is a therapeutic drug development company focusing on cancer, neurological and dermatological disease indications. The company leverages technologies that utilize regulatory pathways which control repair and regeneration. Curis's product development involves the use of small molecules or proteins to modulate these pathways. The company has successfully used this technology and product development approach to produce several promising drug product candidates in the fields of cancer (under collaboration with Genentech, as well as new proprietary cancer programs that target multiple validated cancer pathways), neurological disorders (under collaboration with Wyeth), hair growth (under collaboration with Procter & Gamble), kidney and other diseases (licensed to Ortho Biotech Products and under development at Centocor, both subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson), and cardiovascular disease. For more information, please visit www.curis.com.

Cautionary Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning Curis' belief that the claims of this patent provide additional depth to Curis' existing intellectual property position surrounding Hedgehog agonist compounds and Curis' belief that the issuance of this patent provides additional protection to its existing patent claims surrounding Curis' Hedgehog agonist compounds. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results to be materially different from those indicated by such forward-looking statements including, among other things:

* adverse results, delays and/or failures in the Company's and its strategic collaborators' and licensees' product development programs;

* difficulties or delays in obtaining or maintaining required regulatory approvals for products being developed by the Company and its collaborators and licensees;

* the Company's ability to obtain or maintain the patent and other proprietary intellectual property protection necessary for the development and commercialization of products based on its technologies;

* changes in or the Company's inability to execute its business plan;

* the risk that Curis does not obtain the additional funding required to conduct research and development of its product candidates and execute the Company's business plan;

* unplanned cash requirements and expenditures;

* risks relating to the Company's ability to enter into and maintain important strategic collaborations, including its ability to maintain its current collaboration agreements, or the research funding portions of such collaboration agreements, with Genentech, Wyeth, and Procter & Gamble as well as its license agreement with Ortho Biotech Products;

* the risk that competitors will discover and develop signaling pathway-based or other competing therapeutics faster and more successfully than the Company and its collaborators are able to;

* and other risk factors identified in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and subsequent reports periodically filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the Company's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.