Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Names Bradley T. Sheares, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Bradley T. Sheares, Ph.D. has been appointed Chief Executive Officer effective January 15, 2007 and will become a member of the Company's Board of Directors. Dr. Sheares succeeds Ernest Mario, Ph.D. who has served as Chairman and CEO since 2003. Dr. Mario will continue to serve on the Board of Directors as its Chairman. Dr. Sheares joins Reliant from Merck & Co, Inc. where he most recently was President of U.S. Human Health.

"Reliant will benefit tremendously from Brad's broad range of experience at Merck, where he had a very successful career rising through the ranks from his start as a researcher to overseeing all of U.S. pharmaceutical sales and marketing," said Ernest Mario, Ph.D. "I think he will do a superb job at the helm of Reliant."

"Brad Sheares is exceptionally well suited to succeed Ernie and continue to build upon the strong platform of infrastructure and products which is Reliant today," said Fred Craves, Ph.D., Vice Chairman of Reliant's Board of Directors. "There are many similarities between Brad and Ernie. The most important to us is that they each have a very strong sense of values, integrity and leadership skills. Brad has the scientific expertise, commercialization experience, and vision to guide Reliant and realize the full potential of the company's lead product, Omacor(R) (omega-3 acid ethyl esters), and our pipeline. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank Ernie for his strategic leadership, commitment, and many contributions which have positioned Reliant as the outstanding company it is today. We look forward to his continued involvement and guidance as our Chairman."

"I am thrilled to be joining Reliant at this promising time in the company's development," said newly appointed CEO Bradley Sheares, Ph.D. "With the successful launch of Omacor and the recent FDA filing for an expanded indication, Reliant is well positioned for new growth driven by its pipeline and proven sales and marketing organization. I look forward to working with the Reliant team to realize the full potential of this exciting company."

Dr. Sheares, 49, brings to Reliant almost 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. Prior to joining Reliant, Dr. Sheares was president of the U.S. Human Health division of Merck & Co., Inc., where he had commercial responsibility for the company's portfolio of prescription medicines for the treatment of chronic and acute diseases in the United States. During his tenure as president, Dr. Sheares was a member of Merck's Management Committee, which was responsible for formulating global business strategies, operations management and the development and implementation of corporate policies. Dr. Sheares served as vice president, hospital marketing and sales for U.S. Human Health prior to his promotion to president, U.S. Human Health in 2001. Dr. Sheares joined Merck in 1987 as a research fellow in the Merck Research Laboratories and moved to the U.S. commercial organization in 1990.

Raised in Chicago, Dr. Sheares attended public schools before attending Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a degree in chemistry. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Purdue University and was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow and a Lucille P. Markey Scholar at the Center for Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Sheares' research interests included the biochemistry of glycoprotein synthesis and gene regulation of cholesterol synthesis.

Dr. Sheares serves on the board of directors of Honeywell International, a $23 billion diversified technology and manufacturing company, and The Progressive Corporation, the nation's third largest insurance holding company. He also serves on the board of trustees of Spelman College, and is a member of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the Abington Friends School Committee, the Scientific Advisory Council for Montclair State University, and the Executive Leadership Council. He is the former chair of the board of directors of the National Pharmaceutical Council, which focuses on broadly communicating the economic, clinical and societal value of pharmaceuticals.

About Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Reliant Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company with integrated sales, marketing and development expertise that markets a portfolio of branded cardiovascular pharmaceutical products. Reliant focuses on marketing promotionally sensitive pharmaceutical products to the high prescribing primary care, cardiovascular and specialist physician markets in the United States. Reliant also acquires rights to and develops product candidates in mid- to late-stage clinical development. Reliant's sales force infrastructure is comprised of approximately 825 sales professionals nationwide.

"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. To the extent any statements made in this release contain information that is not historical, these statements are essentially forward looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the difficulty of predicting FDA approvals, acceptance and demand for new pharmaceutical products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development and launch, reliance on key strategic alliances, availability of raw materials, the regulatory environment, fluctuations in operating results and other risks.

Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONTACT: Marylou Rowe, Investor Relations Manager, ReliantPharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-908-860-4646, investorrelations@reliantrx.com

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