Arête Therapeutics Inc

Arête Therapeutics Names James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer

HAYWARD, Calif.—July 8, 2008 —Arête Therapeutics Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class soluble epoxide hydrolase (s-EH) inhibitors, today announced the appointment of James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., as president and chief executive officer. Dr. Sabry has been a strategic advisor and member of the board of directors since March 2008. Dr. Sabry succeeds Dinesh Patel in the position of president and chief executive officer, who will remain as a consultant to the company.

“James brings a wealth of drug discovery, development, and biotechnology management expertise to Arête and already has made significant contributions to the company. We are confident that his exceptional entrepreneurial leadership will guide the company in the years to come as Arête continues to advance its pipeline of innovative compounds through clinical development,” said James Topper, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the board of Arête Therapeutics Inc. “In addition, on behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Dinesh Patel for his dedication and commitment to building a successful biotechnology organization while transitioning Arête from a discovery to a clinical stage company.”

Dr. Sabry is chairman of the board of directors and former CEO of Cytokinetics, a company he co-founded in August 1997. Prior to co-founding Cytokinetics, he held faculty positions at the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard Medical School. He serves on the board of directors of HopeLab, a not-for-profit organization developing innovative technologies for the management of cancer, obesity and other diseases, is a member of Dean’s Council of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and serves on the advisory boards of numerous organizations including the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences. Dr. Sabry received an M.D. from Queen’s University and a Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of California, San Francisco.

“Arête Therapeutics is uniquely positioned to develop its pipeline of novel soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors for multiple disease indications and I look forward to applying my experience to build on the strong foundation and take the company to the next level of strategic and scientific excellence,” said Dr. Sabry.

About Arête Therapeutics Inc.

Arête Therapeutics Inc. is a privately-held pharmaceutical company discovering and developing first-in-class small molecule drugs directed at soluble epoxide hydrolase (s-EH), a unique enzyme which plays a key role in the arachidonic acid pathway. Arête has discovered and developed a series of proprietary and chemically diverse molecules with preclinical efficacy in various animal models, and is conducting a phase 1 clinical trial with its first-in-class compound, AR9281. The company has raised a total of $51 million in Series A financing led by Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Alta Partners, Three Arch Partners, Burrill & Company and Altitude Life Science Ventures. For more information on Arête Therapeutics, please visit www.aretetherapeutics.com.

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Contacts

Angela Bitting
For Arête Therapeutics Inc.
3912 Trust Way
Hayward, CA 94545
(925) 202-6211
a.bitting@comcast.net