MethylGene Appoints Dr. Martin Godbout as Chairman of the Board of Directors

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - August 31, 2010) - MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG) today announced the appointment of Dr. Martin Godbout as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, effective immediately. Dr. Godbout has been a member of MethylGene’s Board of Directors since 2002. MethylGene’s Board now numbers seven.

Dr. Martin Godbout was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Genome Canada from April 2000 to October 2009, and was formerly the Senior Vice President of BioCapital and President and General Manager of Societe Innovatech Quebec.

Dr. Godbout was a member of the board of the “Conseil de la science et de la technologies du Quebec” from October 1996 to 2004 and has been an advisory member of several Canadian biopharmaceutical venture firms such as SGF Sante and Royal Bank Ventures Inc. He was also a Board Member of the Societe Innovatech du Grand Montreal.

In 2005, Dr. Godbout was named Officer of the Order of Canada. He was also awarded the Grand Prix Recherche from the Quebec Mental Illness Foundation for his previous work on Alzheimer’s disease in 1991, as well as a “Prix Summa” in 1994 from the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering of the Universite Laval. In 1994, he also founded BioContact Quebec which has become one of the most important biopharmaceutical symposiums in North America.

He holds a BSc in Biochemistry and a PhD in Physiology and Molecular Endocrinology from Universite Laval, followed by a post-doctoral training in Neuromolecular Biology at The Scripps Research Institute, in San Diego.

About MethylGene

MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG) is a publicly-traded, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics with a focus on cancer. The Company’s product candidates include: MGCD265, an oral, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor targeting the Met, VEGF, Ron and Tie-2 receptor tyrosine kinases that is in multiple clinical trials for cancer; MGCD290, a fungal Hos2 inhibitor for use in combination with fluconazole for serious fungal infections which has completed Phase I clinical studies; and mocetinostat (MGCD0103), an oral, isoform-selective HDAC inhibitor for cancer which has been in multiple Phase II clinical trials and is currently in a Phase II trial in refractory or relapsed follicular lymphoma. Mocetinostat is licensed to Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd in certain Asian countries. A fourth compound discovered using MethylGene’s HDAC platform, EVP-0334 - a potential cognition enhancing agent for neurodegenerative diseases has successfully completed Phase I trials sponsored by EnVivo Pharmaceuticals Inc. MethylGene also has a funded collaboration with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for applications in ocular diseases using the Company’s proprietary kinase inhibitor chemistry. Please visit our website at www.methylgene.com.

Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management of MethylGene, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond MethylGene’s control. These risks and uncertainties could cause future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such results, performance or achievements include, but are not limited to, the timing and effects of regulatory action; the continuation of collaborations; the results of clinical trials; the timing of enrollment or completion of clinical trials; the success, efficacy or safety of MGCD265, MGCD290 or mocetinostat (MGCD0103); the ability to scale up, formulate and manufacture sufficient GMP, clinical or commercialization quantities of MGCD265, MGCD290 or mocetinostat, and the relative success or the lack of success in developing and gaining regulatory approval and/or market acceptance for any compound or new product including MGCD265, MGCD290 or mocetinostat. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, economic conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which MethylGene does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, expectations with respect to our intellectual property position and our ability to protect our intellectual property and operate our business without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others, changes in the competitive landscape including changes in the standard of care for the various indications in which MethylGene is involved, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, as well as other risks, as described in MethylGene’s Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, under the heading “Risk Factors” which you are urged to read and all other documents filed by the Company that can be found at www.sedar.com. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements included in this presentation. These statements speak only as an update on the date they are made and MethylGene is under no obligation to revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstance or otherwise except in accordance with law.