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Pharmasset Appoints Loni DA Silva As Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Michael J. Sofia As Vice President, Chemistry

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 09:00 CDT

PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmasset is pleased to announce the appointments of Loni da Silva, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Michael J. Sofia as Vice President, Chemistry. Ms. da Silva joins Pharmasset from Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, where she was the Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs. Dr. Sofia was most recently at Bristol-Myers Squibb as Group Director, New Leads Chemistry.

"We are pleased to have Loni and Mike join the Pharmasset Team," stated Schaefer Price, Pharmasset's President & CEO. "Their knowledge and expertise will substantially contribute to the overall goals of the company to commercialize antiviral therapies and to create new opportunities for our antiviral pipeline. Loni will be a key member of our development teams for Clevudine(TM), Reverset(TM), Racivir(R) and PSI-6130, and Michael's strong background in small molecule drug research will be a driving force for our nucleoside discovery engine."

Loni da Silva has nearly twenty years of regulatory affairs, clinical research, and drug development experience with Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Purepac Pharmaceuticals. Ms. da Silva has been directly involved in all aspects of drug product registrations, including such activities for the marketed products Pegasys(R) for Hepatitis C and Macugen(R) for Macular Degeneration. From 1989-2000, Ms. da Silva served in a variety of regulatory affairs roles at Hoffmann-La Roche in therapeutic areas such as hepatitis, virology, ophthalmology, oncology, and gastrointestinal diseases. She received her Masters in Drug Regulatory Affairs from Long Island University and her B.S. in Microbiology from Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Michael J. Sofia has over 18 years of drug discovery and 11 years of research management experience at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Transcell Technologies, and Eli Lilly. At Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Sofia lead high throughput chemistry capabilities that supported drug discovery efforts across six therapeutic areas, including virology, cardiovascular, metabolic diseases, oncology, inflammatory diseases, and neuroscience. From 1993-1999, Dr. Sofia established and directed the chemical research programs at Transcell Technologies, which focused on the discovery of novel antibacterial agents. At Eli Lilly, Dr. Sofia developed anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis. Michael Sofia earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University.

Pegasys(R) and Macugen(R) are registered products of Hoffmann-La Roche and Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, respectively.

Pharmasset, Inc. is an emerging pharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel antiviral drugs. The company leverages its expertise in nucleoside chemistry to develop therapeutics to combat infections caused by drug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis viruses. Pharmasset's product candidates include Clevudine(TM), which is in late-stage clinical trials for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis B, Reverset(TM) and Racivir(R), two drugs in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of HIV, and several other antiviral compounds in advanced preclinical studies, including PSI-6130 for the treatment of Hepatitis C.

In 2003, Pharmasset entered into a collaborative licensing agreement with Incyte Corporation for the development and commercialization of Reverset in certain territories. In 2004, Pharmasset entered into a collaboration agreement with Hoffmann-La Roche for the development and commercialization of PSI-6130 in certain territories for the treatment of Hepatitis C. Pharmasset retains proprietary development and commercialization rights to the balance of its clinical and preclinical pipeline.

Pharmasset's expanding portfolio of antiviral therapeutics aims to improve the lives of individuals around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.pharmasset.com/.

STATEMENTS IN THIS COMPANY PRESS RELEASE MAY CONSTITUTE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND ARE SUBJECT TO NUMEROUS RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES, INCLUDING THE FAILURE OF PHARMASSET'S TECHNOLOGY TO PERFORM AS EXPECTED, THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN QUALIFIED PERSONNEL, THE COMPANY'S FUTURE CAPITAL NEEDS TO FUND ITS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL FUNDING, THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO OBTAIN REQUIRED REGULATORY APPROVALS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS BY OTHERS, THE EXISTENCE OF THIRD-PARTY PATENT RIGHTS, AND OTHER RISKS INHERENT IN DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT STAGE PROGRAMS AT A BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANY. THE ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN THIS COMPANY PRESS RELEASE. THE COMPANY DISCLAIMS ANY OBLIGATION TO UPDATE THE STATEMENTS CONTAINED IN THIS COMPANY PRESS RELEASE.

Contact: Alan Roemer (609) 613-4125 alan.roemer@pharmasset.com

Pharmasset

CONTACT: Alan Roemer of Pharmasset, +1-609-613-4125, oralan.roemer@pharmasset.com

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

Source: PRNewswire

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