Acquisition of AkaRx by Eisai for $255M Closes
Company Founders Continue Working Together at Drais

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., January 6, 2010 –AkaRx Inc., a privately held drug development company (“AkaRx”) announced today the closure of its acquisition by Eisai Inc. (“Eisai”) of Woodcliff Lake, NJ for $255 Million. With today’s closing, AkaRx becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai, the US subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd. The founding team of AkaRx has since founded a second company, Drais Pharmaceuticals Inc. that like AkaRx, is backed by venture capital investors InterWest Partners and Sutter Hill Ventures.

The acquisition of AkaRx marks the culmination of a development license agreement and a deferred merger agreement, both of which were originally signed between AkaRx and MGI PHARMA INC. (“MGI”) in August 2007. In 2008 Eisai acquired MGI, which included the option to acquire AkaRx and AKR-501. During the option period, MGI, and then Eisai, managed and funded the development of AkaRx’s lead compound, AKR-501. AKR-501 is a pharmacological agonist of the thrombopoietin receptor that stimulates platelet production, and was under development at AkaRx for the treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). A Phase II clinical study in ITP has been completed and two other phase II studies, one in liver disease and one in chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia are underway.

AkaRx was founded in 2005 as a spin out of the merger of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Company Ltd (“Yamanouchi”) and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. to form Astellas Pharma Inc. AKR-501 was originally discovered at Yamanouchi and was licensed to AkaRx as part of the original spin out and founding of the company in 2005.

"AkaRx represents both a unique investment structure and a tremendous example of collaboration between a highly experienced management team and their investors," said Dr. Arnold Oronsky, general partner, InterWest Partners. "Working together, we were able to combine the executive team's skills with our industry connections to create a company that, even at its earliest stages, showed great promise. We are very pleased to be investing again with the same team of executives, now at Drais Pharmaceuticals."

The founders of AkaRx were previously the senior management of Yamanouchi R&D in Paramus, NJ. They include Dr. Donna L. Tempel, now the president and CEO of Drais, and Dr. Robert E. Desjardins, that company’s chief scientific officer and a member of the board of directors. Drais (www.DraisPharma.com), like AkaRx, specializes in the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of conditions with serious and unmet medical needs.

About Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held drug development company dedicated to the in-licensing, development and commercialization of novel therapeutic treatments that address unmet medical needs, providing significant benefits over currently available therapies. In September 2008, Drais announced a worldwide development & commercialization deal for UNBS-5162 with Unibioscreen S.A.

Formed in September 2007, Drais completed a Series A financing round in January 2008 from lead investors, InterWest Partners (Menlo Park, CA) and Sutter Hill Ventures (Palo Alto, CA). The Drais management team consists of highly experienced individuals with a successful track record in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to forming Drais, the management team founded AkaRx, Inc. Drais is based in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

For more information, please visit: http://www.draispharma.com.

Contact:

Drais Pharmaceuticals and Diatos Partner to Develop and Commercialize DTS-108 For Treatment of Cancer

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. and PARIS, FRANCE, December 22, 2008 – Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Diatos S.A. today announced that they have entered into a global agreement to develop and commercialize DTS-108 for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. DTS-108 is currently ready to begin Phase I clinical trials in Europe for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

Under the terms of the agreement, the license grants exclusive rights to Drais to develop and commercialize DTS-108 worldwide. In return, Diatos will receive an upfront payment, development milestones and sales milestones, plus royalties. The total value of the non-royalty portion of the partnership is valued at $46.9 million.

“We are very pleased to enter into this partnership with Diatos, which leverages both companies' unique experience and expertise,” said Dr. Donna L. Tempel, president and chief executive officer of Drais Pharmaceuticals. “DTS-108 will become a key asset for Drais and we believe strongly in its potential to provide significant benefits over existing cancer therapies. This is a major step for Drais as we continue to build our therapeutic pipeline.”

John Tchelingerian, president and chief executive officer of Diatos commented: "We are excited about this promising development and commercial cooperation with Drais, which represents another important step in the commercialization of the Diatos portfolio of compounds. We are confident that DTS-108 will fulfill its potential as a valuable addition to the physician’s armamentarium in the treatment of cancer. This transaction also represents further validation of the Diatos Vectocell® technology platform. Diatos has built its portfolio of drugs and drug candidates based on our proprietary pro-drug, drug delivery and targeting technologies, Tumor-Selective Prodrug (TSP) and Vectocell®. The Vectocell® platform generated the DTS-108 program."

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC, served as the exclusive investment banking advisor to Diatos SA for the License Agreement.

About DTS-108

DTS-108 is a pro-drug of SN38, the active metabolite of the widely-used anti-cancer chemotherapy drug irinotecan. DTS-108 has been designed, based on Diatos' Vectocell® technology platform, to offer therapeutic advantages over unmodified SN38 and irinotecan.

Irinotecan is an antineoplastic enzyme inhibitor of the topoisomerase I inhibitor class primarily used in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Irinotecan is a derivative of camptothecin. Camptothecins interact specifically with the enzyme topoisomerase I which relieves torsional strain in DNA by inducing reversible single-strand breaks. Irinotecan and its active metabolite SN-38 bind to the topoisomerase I-DNA complex and prevent religation of these single-strand breaks. Current research suggests that the cytotoxicity of irinotecan is due to double-strand DNA damage produced during DNA synthesis when replication enzymes interact with the ternary complex formed by topoisomerase I, DNA and either irinotecan or SN-38. Mammalian cells cannot efficiently repair these double-strand breaks. By applying the proprietary Vectocell® technology, Diatos has shown in non-clinical models that it can deliver high doses of SN38, while avoiding the gastrointestinal toxicity observed with irinotecan.

About Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held, drug development company dedicated to the in-licensing, development and commercialization of novel therapeutic treatments that address unmet medical needs, providing significant benefits over currently available therapies. In September 2008, Drais announced a worldwide development & commercialization deal for UNBS-5162 with Unibioscreen S.A.

Formed in September 2007, Drais completed a Series A financing round in January 2008 from lead investors, InterWest Partners (Menlo Park, CA) and Sutter Hill Ventures (Palo Alto, CA). The Drais management team consists of highly experienced individuals with a successful track record in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to forming Drais, the management team founded AkaRx, Inc. Drais is based in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

For more information, please visit: www.draispharma.com.

About Diatos S.A.

DIATOS S.A. is privately owned and was founded in 1999. The Company is headquartered in Paris, France with two subsidiaries in Leuven, Belgium and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Diatos is focused on the research, development and marketing of new versions of existing anti-cancer chemotherapeutic drugs with enhanced tumor targeting or improved bio-distribution. Diatos are successfully developing and commercializing a broad portfolio of compounds and pre-clinical programs which addresses clear unmet needs, targeting markets with multi-billion dollar revenue potential and is protected by a robust Intellectual Property position. There are four key characteristics which distinguish Diatos in the oncology sector:

1. Extensive development stage and pre-clinical portfolio: Diatos has built its portfolio of drugs and drug candidates through a strategy of licensing, acquisitions as well as an internal research and development activity based on its pro-drug, drug delivery and targeting technologies, Tumor-Selective Prodrug (TSP) and Vectocell®. Vectocell® generated the DTS-108 program. Both technology platforms have been validated through either preclinical or clinical studies, together with research collaborations or feasibility studies with marquee corporate partners. In addition a wide range of follow on pro-drugs, based on these platforms, is currently in the lead optimization stage and all show strong potential.
   
2. Unprecedented results and proof of concept data have been demonstrated in the clinic: Diatos currently has drugs that are entering phase I and in phase II and III clinical trials.
   
3. Attractive pricing opportunities in large and growing markets appear to exist for Diatos compounds
   
4. Robust patent position for both the platform technologies and the therapeutic compounds

More information is available on www.diatos.com

Contact:

Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Launches Operations

Bridgewater, NJ — January 9, 2008 — Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the firm has completed a $15M Series A financing and has initiated operations. Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an ethical pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and dedicated to the development of novel therapeutic treatments that address unmet medical needs and provide significant benefits over currently available therapies.

The Drais management team consists of highly experienced, seasoned individuals with sustained, successful track records in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to the formation of Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the team founded AkaRx, Inc. in 2005 successfully guiding their lead compound through Phase 2 proof of concept and negotiating the sale of the company to MGI Pharma in 2008.

“We are grateful to our investors, InterWest Partners and Sutter Hill Ventures, for their financial support. Their willingness to support us for the second time speaks well of the relationship we have shared and in their faith in our ability to create a dynamic, and successful company”, said Dr. Donna Tempel, President and CEO.

“I am very confident in our abilities, and have high expectations for the future. We have a very experienced, accomplished and highly motivated team at Drais with in-depth knowledge of the clinical and regulatory aspects of drug development over a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. This expertise provides Drais with the ability to select development projects that have the potential to provide significant clinical benefits, while realistically balancing developmental and commercialization risks.”

Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is located in Bridgewater, N.J. The company currently has 10 full-time employees.