Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Exercises Option To Acquire Novel Antibodies From AnaptysBio, Inc.

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:MNTA), a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, today announced that it has exercised its option to acquire novel antibodies generated by AnaptysBio, Inc., a privately-held therapeutic antibody company, as part of the previously announced agreement between the two companies.

"The antibodies generated by AnaptysBio allow us to further progress our development of a novel recombinant antibody for certain autoimmune disorders," said Ganesh Kaundinya, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "The target for the antibodies was selected based on Momenta's research of the complex biology underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of IVIg. As a result of this research, we engaged AnaptysBio to engineer a novel recombinant antibody that targets a specific biological pathway we believe is important for autoimmune diseases. We look forward to sharing more details of this program and our other lead programs in the autoimmune disease area at our R&D day in October."

"We are pleased to have successfully achieved this milestone with Momenta and look forward to their advancement of a lead antibody candidate generated by AnaptysBio's SHM-XEL platform," said Hamza Suria, President and Chief Executive Officer of AnaptysBio Inc. "The success of this program further affirms AnaptysBio's industry-leading track-record in developing novel therapeutic antibodies against challenging first-generation therapeutic targets."

About Momenta
Momenta Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company specializing in the detailed structural analysis of complex mixture drugs and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Momenta is applying its technology to the development of generic versions of complex drugs, biosimilar and potentially interchangeable biologics, and to the discovery and development of novel products.

To receive additional information about Momenta, please visit the website at www.momentapharma.com, which does not form a part of this press release.

Our logo, trademarks, and service marks are the property of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All other trade names, trademarks, or service marks are property of their respective owners.

About AnaptysBio
AnaptysBio is a privately-held company focused on the generation of antibody therapeutics and is the leader in the use of somatic hypermutation (SHM) for antibody discovery and optimization. AnaptysBio is developing a pipeline of therapeutic antibody candidates, including novel programs in immuno-oncology, inflammation, fibrosis and muscle wasting disorders. AnaptysBio's proprietary SHM-XEL platform, which couples fully human antibody libraries with in vitro somatic hypermutation in mammalian cells, replicates key features of the human immune system and overcomes limitations of prior antibody technologies. For more information, visit www.anaptysbio.com.

Forward Looking Statements for Momenta
Statements in this press release regarding management's future expectations, beliefs, intentions, goals, strategies, plans or prospects, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements about the Company's antibody research and development programs and product opportunities. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "could increase the likelihood," "hope," "target," "project," "goals," "potential," "predict," "might," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is planned," "may," "should," "will," "will enable," "would be expected," "look forward," "may provide," "would" or similar terms, variations of such terms or the negative of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors referred to in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the section "Risk Factors," as well as other documents that may be filed by Momenta from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of such risks, uncertainties and factors, the Company's actual results may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Momenta is providing the information in this press release as of this date and assumes no obligations to update the information included in this press release or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT: Karen Sharma MacDougall Biomedical Communications 1-781-235-3060 Momenta@macbiocom.com INVESTOR CONTACT: Sarah Carmody Momenta Pharmaceuticals 1-617-395-5189 IR@momentapharma.com

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