Targanta Therapeutics

Targanta appoints Chief Scientific Officer

Contacts:

Pierre Etienne
President and CEO
(514) 332-1008
Email

Joan Kureczka
Kureczka/Martin Associates
(415) 821-2413
[email protected]

MONTREAL, QU�BEC (January 31, 2005): Targanta Therapeutics Inc. (formerly known as PhageTech Inc.), a private biopharmaceutical company developing new classes of antibiotics, today announced the appointment of Dr. Thomas R. Parr as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Parr joins Targanta from Adaptive Therapeutics, where he most recently held the position of Vice President of Research.

�Several of our chemical series of antibacterial compounds had reached the advanced optimization stage, and selecting and characterizing the best of these for clinical development required an industry expert,� said Dr. Pierre Etienne, President and Chief Executive Officer. �With his wealth of experience in antibacterial development both in big pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, Tom Parr exactly brings what we needed. His expertise is an ideal complement to the expertise of the company founders and my own expertise in early clinical research.�

�Targanta has a fascinating and productive discovery platform that has produced interesting lead molecules,� said Dr. Parr. �More importantly, the company has the talent and enthusiasm that will allow these discoveries to be effectively developed. I look forward to helping Targanta to advance their pipeline of novel anti-microbial agents. I am also impressed and encouraged by the Montreal environment and the support of the current investors.�

Dr. Parr joined Adaptive Therapeutics in 2003 and over the last 2 years accomplished a series of scientific milestones as well as reorganizing and restructuring research efforts. Prior to that time, Dr. Parr held positions with Embiosis Pharmaceuticals (renamed from MicroGenomics Inc.) as Vice President of Research and Development and Xenogen Corporation as Senior Director of Microbiology. Dr. Parr received his Ph.D. degree from University of Calgary.

About Targanta

Targanta is a private, venture-backed biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of new classes of antibiotic drugs for novel antibacterial targets, based on its world-leading efforts in phage genomics. By unraveling the genetic code of phages, or bacterial viruses, Targanta has identified antimicrobial proteins used by the phages to kill or stop the growth of bacteria, as well as the specific bacterial targets with which those proteins interact. The company then screens these bacterial targets to identify novel small molecule drugs that mimic the phage proteins� growth inhibitory effects. Since its establishment, Targanta has translated this discovery approach into lead series of early drug development candidates that have demonstrated antibacterial activity in preclinical models. The company is also developing a novel antibacterial prodrug for the treatment and prevention of bone infections (osteomyelitis). Targanta is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec.

For more information on Targanta, please contact Pierre Etienne, M.D., President and CEO at (514) 332-1008.