Panacos Completes Pre-clinical Studies Indicating Bevirimat Is Non-Teratogenic Business Wire
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Panacos Completes Pre-clinical Studies Indicating Bevirimat Is Non-Teratogenic

Business Wire - August 14, 2006


TORONTO - Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:PANC), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing the next generation of antiviral therapeutic products, today announced the completion of preclinical studies indicating that their lead drug candidate, bevirimat (PA-457), is non-teratogenic, meaning it did not cause fetal malformations in the models used in the studies. The findings from these studies were published today as an abstract in the Conference Abstract Book of the XVI International AIDS Conference.

"The findings of this study indicate that bevirimat would not be expected to cause teratogenic effects when used to treat pregnant women," said Graham Allaway, President and Chief Operating Officer of Panacos. "This suggests that, unlike some marketed HIV drugs, the use of bevirimat may not be limited in pregnant women or women of childbearing age, two very important and growing segments of the HIV population. This study confirms our belief that bevirimat may be a drug with very broad utility in patients with HIV."

About Panacos

Panacos is developing the next generation of anti-infective products through discovery and development of small molecule oral drugs for the treatment of HIV and other major human viral diseases. HIV infects approximately 1.7 million people in North America and Western Europe and approximately 40 million people worldwide. Approximately 650,000 patients are treated annually for HIV in the United States and Western Europe. Resistance to currently available drugs is one of the most pressing problems in HIV therapy and the leading cause of treatment failure. Panacos' proprietary discovery technologies are designed to combat resistance by focusing on novel targets in the virus life cycle, including virus maturation and virus fusion.

Panacos' lead candidate, bevirimat (PA-457), is the first in a new class of oral HIV therapeutics under development called maturation inhibitors, discovered by Panacos scientists and their academic collaborators. Based on its novel mechanism of action, bevirimat is designed to have potent activity against a broad range of HIV, including strains that are resistant to existing classes of drugs. The Company has completed seven clinical studies of bevirimat in over 300 subjects, showing significant reductions in viral load in HIV-infected subjects and a promising safety profile.

Except for the historical information contained herein, statements made herein, including those relating to bevirimat's clinical development, the potential results of treatment with bevirimat and future clinical trials and clinical practice are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks as set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. In addition, readers are cautioned that results from preclinical studies and early-stage clinical studies of bevirimat may not be replicated in larger, later-stage clinical studies of that product candidate.

CONTACT: Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Jill Smith, 240-449-1250

jsmith@panacos.com

or

Peyton Marshall, 617-926-1551

pmarshall@panacos.com

SOURCE: Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.


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