Nereus Pharmaceuticals Builds-Up Research Team Hires Seasoned Veteran as VP Research.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

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SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2002

Nereus Pharmaceuticals Inc., a pioneer in drug discovery and development from marine microbial sources, today announced that it has appointed Deborah Mosca, Ph.D. vice president research. With more than 20 years of experience in drug discovery and development research, Dr. Mosca most recently served as vice president drug development at Elitra Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Mosca was integral to Elitra's drug discovery and development efforts. She managed the selection of drug targets and helped to identify clinical indications. She directly participated in negotiations leading to substantial revenue in excess of $2.5 million from direct investment and collaborations with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Dr. Mosca also assisted in evaluating the market potential for the company's compounds and identified and evaluated licensing opportunities for Elitra's novel compounds and technologies.

Dr. Mosca was senior director of microbiology at IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibacterial and antifungal drugs for the prevention or treatment of serious infectious diseases. While there, she developed submissions and protocols for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, established relationships with collaborators for research, development and new business efforts and helped to identify and evaluate licensing opportunities for novel compounds and technologies.

Before IntraBiotics, Dr. Mosca at American Cynamid Co. directly managed the natural products research team. While there, Mosca oversaw the group of 16 for seven years, researching terrestrial and aquatic sources for the company's drug discovery efforts in anti-infectives and oncology.

"Deborah's appointment speaks volumes for Nereus' continued investment in its people and processes. We are continuing to strengthen our research team in order to discover potential drug candidates from diverse chemical sources," said Kobi Sethna, Nereus' CEO. "Deborah will be a major contributor to our research and development efforts and I am pleased to welcome her to our team."

Dr. Mosca received her bachelor's degree of science in biology and genetics from Cornell University and her doctorate in biology from State University of New York at Buffalo. She has published more than 40 papers and abstracts and has been involved in the approval of seven patents.

"Nereus' unique discovery and development programs for compounds for infectious disease, cancer, and inflammation, utilizing untapped marine microbial sources, are offering new and promising drug candidates," said Dr. Mosca. "It is exciting to be involved with a company that is focused on the future of drug discovery."

About Nereus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Nereus Pharmaceuticals is an innovative drug discovery and development company pursuing untapped sources of chemical diversity. With unmatched expertise in marine microbiology and structural elucidation, Nereus is using its integrated platform technologies to identify novel biologically active compounds. The company believes that its marine microbes will be the next great source of drug discovery for the pharmaceutical industry. Nereus aims to develop and optimize drug candidates to treat cancer, infectious diseases, and inflammation. The company is privately held and based in San Diego, California. For more information, visit www.nereuspharm.com.

Nereus and the stylized N are registered trademarks of Nereus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All other product and company names may be registered trademark or trademarks of their respective owners.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements containing the words "intends," "expects," and similar words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company's actual results to be materially different from historical results or any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date hereof.