Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. Announces Appointment Of Marc Navre, Ph.D. To Vice President Drug Discovery

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Catalyst Biosciences, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on engineering and developing novel therapeutic protease products, today announced that Marc Navre, Ph.D. has been appointed the as the company's Vice President of Drug Discovery. Dr Navre brings over twenty years of experience in applying innovative technologies to drug discovery with a strong focus on proteases.

"We are delighted that Marc has joined Catalyst," said Nassim Usman, CEO, Catalyst Biosciences. "His background and accomplishments at Affymax, GSK and Syrrx/Takeda are exceptional and will play a key role in helping us move our discovery programs forward quickly and successfully."

Dr Navre received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and completed post-doctoral training at Stanford University as a Damon Runyon fellow. In 1991 Dr Navre joined Affymax, where he built the Enzymology group, and developed an innovative system for mapping protease specificity using polyvalent phage display, the use of which has been published on for a variety of therapeutically relevant proteases. Following Affymax's acquisition by Glaxo-Wellcome, Dr Navre worked extensively with international teams including Glaxo's Protease Systems-Based Research group, the Antibacterial Exploratory Discovery Board, as well as the Global Scientific Computing Board. Prior to joining Catalyst, Dr Navre was Vice President of Biology at Takeda San Diego (formerly Syrrx), where he participated in numerous discovery programs, including the development of SYR322, an inhibitor of the protease DPP IV, which is now in Phase III clinical testing for Type II diabetes.

Catalyst is focused on significantly expanding the therapeutic application of proteases through high-throughput protein engineering. The Company's product discovery platform includes methods to rapidly create and optimize tailor-made protease drug candidates, called Alterases(TM), applicable across a broad spectrum of clinical categories. Catalyst recently completed a $30 million Series B financing and has raised over $40 million to date to advance its therapeutic programs.

"Marc's proven skills and extensive experience in drug discovery and protease biochemistry will be a real asset as Catalyst builds its therapeutic pipeline," said Edwin L. Madison, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Catalyst.

About Catalyst Biosciences:

Catalyst Biosciences is developing the next generation of biopharmaceuticals by harnessing the catalytic power of proteases. Catalyst's product discovery platform includes methods to rapidly create and optimize tailor-made protease drug candidates, called Alterases(TM), applicable across a broad spectrum of clinical categories. Initially, Catalyst is focusing its product development efforts on proteases that prevent cardiac inflammation that may be applied in several cardiovascular disorders. The company expects to leverage its expertise in protease design to address additional classes of disease targets in the future. Catalyst is backed by the leading venture firms Sofinnova Ventures, Burrill & Company, Novartis Venture Fund, RCT Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures and HealthCare Ventures. For more information, visit www.catbio.com.

Contact: For Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. Jennifer Larson 415-409-2729 jlarson@labfive.com

Catalyst Biosciences, Inc.

CONTACT: Jennifer Larson, +1-415-409-2729, or jlarson@labfive.com, forCatalyst Biosciences, Inc.

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