LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 10, 2002--Neurion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.neurionpharma.com), an ion channel drug discovery company targeting central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced today that it has appointed Kendall N. Houk, Ph.D., to its new Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB, to be composed of eminent academic scientists and clinicians, will advise Neurion’s senior research and business management on key scientific and clinical issues and developments that will impact the growth of the company.

Dr. Houk, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, is a leading authority on theoretical organic chemistry and computer modeling. His pioneering research has provided new insights into the fundamentals of organic reactivity and the nature of small molecule-protein interactions. Dr. Houk has served as the Chairman of the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and he was Director of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the World Association of Theoretically Oriented Chemists. Dr. Houk was a Dreyfus Teacher Scholar and a Fellow of the Alfred Sloan Foundation. He has received the von Humboldt U.S. Senior Scientist Award, the American Chemical Society James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, the Schrödinger Medal and the Tolman Medal. He has published over 500 articles in refereed journals and was the 35th most-cited chemist in the period 1981-1997. He received his A.B., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard University, working with the legendary R. B. Woodward.

Dennis A. Dougherty, Ph.D, the George Grant Hoag Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), co-founder and Director of Neurion and Co-Chairman of the SAB, said "We are delighted that Dr. Houk, a valued colleague and friend, has joined our SAB. As a leading theoretical and computational chemist, Ken will provide critical insights and guide fundamental decisions regarding Neurion’s interdisciplinary research program, of which chemistry and molecular modeling are significant components. We look forward to Ken’s participation on our SAB."

Neurion Pharmaceuticals was co-founded in January, 2002, by Dr. Dennis Dougherty and Dr. Henry A. Lester, Bren Professor of Biology at Caltech, who is also a Director of the company and Co-Chairman of the SAB. Drs. Dougherty and Lester have collaborated for over a decade on research into the structure and function of ion channels, a class of proteins that are a major target of drug development efforts within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, particularly for CNS diseases and disorders. Together, Drs. Dougherty and Lester developed the Neurion Precision Neurochemistry Platform (NP2). NP2 enables the development of membrane protein models with accuracy exceeding the capabilities of other difficult and time-consuming methods, including x-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Neurion intends to leverage its NP2 technology to discover and optimize new CNS therapeutics. The company also intends to develop high-precision ion channel models for screening against a highly prevalent form of drug-induced cardiac toxicity, known as hERG blockade.

Neurion is currently pursuing research alliances with leading pharmaceutical companies as well as embarking upon its own internal drug discovery program. The company received a founding equity investment from Convergent Ventures (www.convergentventures.com), a Los Angeles-based life science venture capital firm.

CONTACT:
Jonathan G. Lasch
CEO & President
11766 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1420
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-444-3241, Ext. 16

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