Versartis, Inc. to Present New Data at International Congress on Endocrinology

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - March 26, 2010) - Versartis, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company developing novel biologics for the treatment of patients with metabolic diseases, will present two scientific posters that demonstrate monthly dosing capabilities of the company's lead product, VRS-859 (exenatide-XTEN), and earlier stage product, VRS-317 (hGH-XTEN), at the 14th Annual International Congress on Endocrinology (ICE 2010) beginning today in Kyoto, Japan.

Jeffrey Cleland, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Versartis, said, "We are very encouraged by the potential of the novel XTEN technology to provide monthly dosing in preclinical studies. This new data validates our earlier research results and supports our plans for advancing both products into the clinic later this year."

VRS-859, a once monthly dosage form of the GLP-1 analog exenatide, has demonstrated improved glycemic control over and comparable weight loss to an infusion of exenatide. VRS-859 is on track for a Phase 1a trial in type 2 diabetes patients to begin in the second quarter 2010. VRS-317, a once monthly dosage form of human growth hormone (hGH), has demonstrated superiority of dosing and tolerability over other long-acting hGH analogs. Clinical trials of VRS-317 in growth hormone deficient patients are planned to start in the fourth quarter 2010.

XTEN is a proprietary sequence of natural hydrophilic amino acids that prolongs the half-life of proteins and peptides. New therapeutic compounds developed by Versartis using the XTEN technology are expected to provide improved therapeutic outcomes including enhanced stability and less frequent dosing requirements with potentially fewer patient side effects.

Poster Presentations:

"The combination of a long acting GLP-1 analog (E-XTEN; VRS-859) and long acting glucagon (Gcg-XTEN; AMX-808) for superior weight loss and glycemic control in treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity"

Poster Session P1-4-7: Diabetes Mellitus 4
Saturday, March 27 1:10 - 2:20 pm

"A Novel Human Growth Hormone XTEN Construct (VRS-317) for Monthly Administration"

Poster Session P13-1-5: Pediatric Endocrinology
Monday, March 29 1:10 - 2:20 pm

Abstracts of the posters to be presented at the ICE 2010 meeting can be accessed via the Versartis website: www.versartis.com and further information about the meeting can be found at the website: www.ice2010.org.

About Versartis
Versartis, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for the treatment of metabolic diseases and endocrine disorders. Versartis is pursuing the development of new therapeutic proteins utilizing the Amunix Inc. novel half-life extension XTEN technology.

Versartis, a joint venture company between Amunix, Inc. and Index Ventures, owns and develops the novel drug candidates in metabolic diseases and endocrinology that it has licensed from Amunix. Versartis has established preclinical proof-of-concept for three product candidates in its pipeline: exenatide and IL-1ra for diabetes, and hGH for growth hormone deficiency. Further information on Versartis can be found at www.versartis.com.