Biopharmaceuticals Personnel

 News Release - September 18, 2006

Anacor Expands Clinical Development Team

Irwin A. Heyman to Serve as VP of Toxicology, Debra Kay Marti Joins as Senior Director of Clinical Development

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 18 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company, announced that it has hired Irwin A. Heyman, Ph.D. as the company's Vice President of Toxicology and Debra Kay Marti as Senior Director, Clinical Development.

"Irwin and Debra come on board as we are accelerating our clinical program, and their experience in taking compounds from pre-clinical testing through development will be invaluable," said David Perry, Anacor's Chief Executive Officer. "Our clinical programs for our antifungal lead compound AN2690 and our atopic dermatitis treatment, AN0128, have shown great promise, and the skills of these seasoned executives will help us further expand our capabilities."

Anacor is evaluating AN2690 in three Phase 2 trials. The compound, the first in a new class of topical antifungal drugs, is being developed for onychomycosis, an infection of the nail and nail bed. AN0128, a novel topical anti-inflammatory drug candidate for atopic dermatitis, a disease that affects approximately 15 million Americans, has completed Phase 2a testing. A larger study of the drug is planned for later this year.

Prior to joining Anacor, Heyman served Kinemed Inc. as the executive vice president of drug development and toxicology. He brings to Anacor more than three decades of toxicology experience at both biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott Laboratories, Syntex Corp. and Biophiltre LLC. He has been associated with the successful launch of 14 new chemical entities, and he holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Marti has 19 years of operations management experience, including oversight of clinical operations of Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials. She joins Anacor from Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., where she had served as senior project manager since 2001. Earlier, Marti held posts at MDS Pharma Services and Cortech Inc. Marti graduated with a BA in business from Regis University.

About Anacor Pharmaceuticals

Anacor, a privately held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, is developing novel product candidates for inflammatory and infectious diseases based on its proprietary, small-molecule, boron-based chemistry. Initially, Anacor is focusing development efforts on dermatological disorders with AN2690 in Phase 2 trials for onychomycosis, a fungal infection of nails and nail beds. A second product candidate, AN0128, is in Phase 2 clinical trials for atopic dermatitis.

Source: Anacor Pharmaceuticals

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