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Regulus Therapeutics Appoints Peter S. Linsley, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer

Business Wire, Feb 11, 2008

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Regulus Therapeutics LLC, a joint venture between Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY) and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS) formed to discover, develop, and commercialize microRNA therapeutics, announced today the appointment of Peter S. Linsley, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Linsley has been instrumental in advancing the scientific understanding and therapeutic potential of microRNAs.

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"I am delighted to welcome Peter, a prominent industry leader and renowned scientist, to the Regulus executive team. Peter's expertise in microRNA research coupled with his experience in advancing discovery programs into the clinic will be a tremendous asset as we advance our efforts towards developing microRNA therapeutics," said Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Regulus. "In addition, Peter's decision to join Regulus is a testament to the unique strengths of Regulus, a company that is positioned with a very strong intellectual property estate and access to advanced RNA-targeted technologies."

"Regulus has all the necessary components to lead the microRNA therapeutic space, and I am excited to help build an innovative company based on the development of microRNAs for potential new treatment options for a broad range of diseases," said Peter S. Linsley, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Regulus. "Regulus has a solid scientific foundation, a notable Scientific Advisory Board and an impressive set of collaborations with leading microRNA scientists at prestigious research institutes. Through its collaborations, Regulus has gained an important understanding of more than 60 microRNAs as potential disease targets in numerous therapeutic areas."

Before joining Regulus, Dr. Linsley was an Executive Director of Cancer Biology at Merck Research Laboratories. Dr. Linsley joined Merck upon its acquisition of Rosetta Inpharmatics LLC, where he held a variety of positions, most recently Vice President of Research and Development. Prior to joining Rosetta Inpharmatics, Dr. Linsley was a Director of Immunology at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he co-discovered and aided clinical development of immunomodulatory drugs abatacept (Orencia) and belatacept. Dr. Linsley conducted postdoctoral research in the department of Genetics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. He received his Ph.D. at the Molecular Biology Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles, and his B.S. from Auburn University where he graduated magna cum laude. In addition to participating on the editorial board of several scientific research journals, including the Journal of Immunology, Dr. Linsley has published over 220 scientific publications and is an inventor on more than 35 issued U.S. patents.

About microRNAs

microRNAs are a recently discovered class of genetically encoded small RNAs, approximately 20 nucleotides in length, and are believed to regulate the expression of a large number of human genes. microRNA therapeutics represent a new approach for the treatment of a wide range of human diseases. The inappropriate absence or presence of specific microRNAs in various cells has been shown to be associated with specific human diseases including cancer, viral infection, and metabolic disorders. Targeting microRNAs with novel therapeutic agents could result in novel and broadly acting treatments for human diseases.

About Regulus

Regulus Therapeutics LLC is a biopharmaceutical company formed to discover, develop and commercialize microRNA therapeutics. The company was created as a joint venture between Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a leader in RNAi therapeutics, and Isis Pharmaceuticals, a leader in antisense technologies and therapeutics. Isis and Alnylam scientists and collaborators were the first to discover microRNA antagonist strategies that work in vivo in animal studies (Krutzfeldt et al. Nature 438, 685-689 (2005); Esau et al. Cell Metab., 3, 87-98 (2006)). Isis and Alnylam have also created and consolidated key intellectual property (IP) for the development and commercialization of microRNA therapeutics. This IP estate includes over 900 patents and patent applications, including 600 issued patents, owned by Isis and pertaining to chemical modification of oligonucleotides for therapeutic applications. The company, founded in September 2007, maintains facilities in Carlsbad, California. For more information, visit www.regulusrx.com.

About Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Alnylam is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics based on RNA interference, or RNAi. The company is applying its therapeutic expertise in RNAi to address significant medical needs, many of which cannot effectively be addressed with small molecules or antibodies, the current major classes of drugs. Alnylam is leading the translation of RNAi as a new class of innovative medicines with peer-reviewed research efforts published in the world's top scientific journals including Nature, Nature Medicine, and Cell. The company is leveraging these capabilities to build a broad pipeline of RNAi therapeutics; its most advanced program is in Phase II human clinical trials for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. In addition, the company is developing RNAi therapeutics for the treatment of a wide range of disease areas, including hypercholesterolemia, liver cancers, and Huntington's disease. The company's leadership position in fundamental patents, technology, and know-how relating to RNAi has enabled it to form major alliances with leading companies including Medtronic, Novartis, Biogen Idec, and Roche. To reflect its outlook for key scientific, clinical, and business initiatives, Alnylam has established "RNAi 2010" which includes the company's plan to significantly expand the scope of delivery solutions for RNAi therapeutics, have four or more programs in clinical development, and to form four or more new major business collaborations, all by the end of 2010. Alnylam is a joint owner of Regulus Therapeutics LLC, a joint venture focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of microRNA therapeutics. Founded in 2002, Alnylam maintains headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.alnylam.com.

Business Services Industry

Regulus Therapeutics Appoints Peter S. Linsley, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer

Business Wire, Feb 11, 2008

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