KOSAN Biosciences, Inc. Announces Management Changes; CFO To Leave

HAYWARD, Calif., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kosan Biosciences Incorporated announced today that Margaret (Peg) Horn has been appointed Senior Vice President and General Counsel, effective December 1, 2005. Ms. Horn reports to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel V. Santi, M.D., Ph.D. and is a member of Kosan’s executive management team. She is responsible for the company’s legal matters, securities law compliance, intellectual property matters and business development. Kosan also announced today that Susan M. Kanaya, Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, will be leaving the company effective January 1, 2006 to pursue another opportunity.

“Peg Horn is a great addition to our management team, and we are fortunate to have recruited such a talented and experienced senior executive from within the life sciences industry,” said Dr. Santi. “Along with the team at Kosan, I would like to personally thank Susan for her valuable contributions, and we wish Susan the best of success in her future pursuits. Kosan remains well- positioned to execute on our strategic and product development programs as we evaluate new Chief Financial Officer candidates.”

Ms. Horn brings more than 20 years of life sciences industry experience. Most recently, Ms. Horn held the position of general counsel and secretary at Genencor, a diversified biotechnology company acquired by Danisco in 2005. Previously, Ms. Horn held various positions at Genencor, including vice president, assistant general counsel, assistant secretary and general patent counsel. She began her legal career at E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, where she worked in DuPont’s Pharmaceutical Division, and assisted in the implementation of the pharmaceutical joint venture between DuPont and Merck. Ms. Horn received her B.S. in Pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1985 and a J.D. from Villanova Law School in 1988.

About Kosan

Kosan Biosciences is advancing two new classes of anticancer agents through clinical development. Kosan’s most advanced compound, KOS-862 (Epothilone D), is in Phase II and Phase Ib clinical trials in breast cancer , and its follow-on compound, KOS-1584, is in Phase I clinical trials. These programs are partnered with Roche through a global development and commercialization agreement. Kosan is also developing Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90) inhibitors, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including 17-AAG, a first generation geldanamycin analog. Kosan’s proprietary formulation of 17-AAG, KOS-953, is in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials for multiple myeloma and metastatic breast cancer. In addition, a second-generation geldanamycin analog, KOS-1022 (DMAG), is currently in Phase I clinical trials, in collaboration with the NCI. Kosan has generated a pipeline of additional product candidates for gastrointestinal motility, infectious diseases and cancer based on its proprietary technologies for discovering, developing and manufacturing polyketide analogs. Polyketides are an important class of natural products that have yielded numerous pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, high cholesterol, transplant rejection and other diseases. For additional information on Kosan Biosciences, please visit the Company’s website at www.kosan.com.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, including statements with respect to the future management of Kosan and Kosan’s ability to execute on its strategic and product development efforts. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Kosan to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to Kosan’s ability to retain its current employees and recruit qualified management personnel and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2005 and other periodic filings with the SEC. Kosan does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Kosan Biosciences Incorporated

CONTACT: Daniel V. Santi, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, +1-510-732-8400, orsanti@kosan.com

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