FermaVir Announces Presentations on Potential Shingles Therapy at 19th International Conference on Antiviral Research ; Research Enhances Preclinical Properties of FermaVir Compounds

Business Wire, May 3, 2006

NEW YORK -- FermaVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB:FMVR) is pleased to announce that four abstracts on its research and development on compounds for the treatment of shingles have been accepted for presentation at the 19th International Conference on Antiviral Research to be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico May 7th-11th, 2006. The work to be presented is a three-way collaboration between the company, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales and the Rega Institute of the Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium.

Professor Chris McGuigan, a FermaVir founder and board member will give an oral presentation on Wednesday morning entitled: "PreClinical Development of the BCNA's: The Most Potent Anti-VZV Agents Reported to Date." He will report on the latest developments on FermaVir's clinical candidate.

Three of the abstracts will also be presented in posters at a session on Wednesday afternoon May 10th by Marco Migliore, Rina Adak and Annette Angell of Cardiff University. These presentations will focus on the chemistry and activity involved in the selection of compounds with improved pharmaceutical properties for the treatment of shingles.

About FermaVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

FermaVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company positioned for rapid growth by developing important antiviral drugs and other treatments in underserved segments of the pharmaceutical development marketplace. The Company's Intellectual Property portfolio includes a number of patents and patent applications as well as a worldwide exclusive license for potential new drug treatments of infectious diseases. Among FermaVir's lead drug candidates is a breakthrough antiviral treatment that has demonstrated powerful inhibitory activity and may have potential therapeutic benefit for the treatment of shingles, also known as herpes zoster. FermaVir's proprietary compound is believed to be 10,000 times more potent than currently approved shingles drug treatments. FermaVir is also developing a compound that could provide the first improved effective treatment in years for Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, a currently incurable viral disease from the herpes family that can threaten eyesight as well as cause severe morbidity and mortality.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release are forward looking. Such statements are indicated by words such as "expect," "might," "should," "anticipate" and similar words indicating uncertainty in facts and figures. Although FermaVir believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. As discussed in the Form SB-2 of FermaVir dated March 8, 2006, actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of the following factors, among others: uncertainties associated with product development, the risk that FermaVir will not obtain approval to market its products, the risk that FermaVir technology will not gain market acceptance, the risks associated with dependence upon key personnel, and the need for additional financing.