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Kosan Biosciences to Host Research & Development Day on October 31, 2007

Posted on: Thursday, 25 October 2007, 06:00 CDT

HAYWARD, Calif., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kosan Biosciences Inc. today announced that it will host a Research and Development Day on Wednesday, October 31, 2007, beginning at approximately 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time (4:30 a.m. Pacific Time). In addition to presentations by Kosan's Executives, Robert G. Johnson, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer and Pieter Timmermans, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development, invited guest speakers include key oncology opinion leaders.

-- Kenneth C. Anderson, M.D., Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Division of Hematologic Neoplasia, Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center, and Vice Chair of the Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute -- Howard (Skip) A. Burris III, M.D., F.A.C.P., Chief Medical Officer and Director, Drug Development at Sarah Cannon Research Institute -- Clifford A. Hudis, M.D., Chief of the Breast Cancer Medicine Service and Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University -- Neal Rosen, M.D, Ph.D., Enid A. Haupt Chair in Medical Oncology, Member, Department of Medicine and Program in Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry, Head, Developmental Therapeutics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available at http://www.kosan.com/ on the "Investors/Press" page under "Upcoming Events" or by clicking on the "Events Calendar" tab under the same heading, "Investors/Press." A replay of the presentation will be available for 30 days following event. Please connect to Kosan's website several minutes prior to the start of the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary.

About Kosan

Kosan Biosciences is a biotechnology company advancing two new classes of anticancer agents through clinical development -- Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90) inhibitors and epothilones. Kosan is leveraging its proprietary discovery platform to generate a pipeline of potentially significant product candidates, primarily in the area of oncology.

Hsp90 inhibitors have a novel mechanism of action targeting multiple pathways involved in cancer cell growth and survival. Tanespimycin (KOS-953) is being tested in combination with bortezomib (Velcade(R)) in patients with multiple myeloma in a registration program called TIME. Tanespimycin is also being studied in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin(R)), and as monotherapy in metastatic melanoma. Intravenous and oral formulations of Kosan's second-generation Hsp90 inhibitor, alvespimycin (KOS-1022), are being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical

trials in hematological cancers and in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Epothilones inhibit cell division with a mechanism of action similar to taxanes, one of the most successful classes of anti-tumor agents. KOS-1584 is in Phase 1 clinical trials in patients with solid tumors. Kosan's epothilone program is partnered with Roche through a global development and commercialization agreement. Kosan's motilin agonist compound, KOS-2187, licensed to Pfizer, is in a Phase 1 safety trial, with plans to pursue development in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

For additional information on Kosan Biosciences, please visit the company's website at http://www.kosan.com/.

Velcade(R) (bortezomib) is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Herceptin(R) (trastuzumab) is a registered trademark of Genentech, Inc.

Kosan Biosciences Inc.

CONTACT: Jane Green, VP, Corporate Communications of Kosan BiosciencesInc., +1-510-731-5335, mobile, +1-415-652-4819, green@kosan.com

Web site: http://www.kosan.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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