Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announces that Jennifer Giottonini has been appointed Vice President, Corporate Development. In this new position, Ms. Giottonini will be responsible for managing and expanding the company's corporate development activities including business development, product and technology licensing, and intellectual property management. She will report directly to Dr. Steve Mento, President and CEO.

"I am very pleased to welcome Jennifer to the Idun team at this exciting time in our corporate development," said Dr. Steve Mento, President and CEO of Idun. "Jennifer brings business development expertise that Idun needs at this stage in our growth. Her experience in biotech is a great match for our extensive array of technology and drugs under development. In order to properly capitalize on our portfolio, we will need additional partners to exploit its value."

Ms. Giottonini has over 15 years of biotechnology and medical device experience. She joins Idun from Isis Pharmaceuticals, where she served most recently as Vice President, Business Development. Ms. Giottonini was responsible for new business development including drug licensing, technology licensing, drug discovery and development collaborations, and the creation of spinout opportunities. She led and executed multiple alliances with pharmaceutical and biotech companies including three drug discovery collaborations totaling over $100M and two drug development/licensing partnerships totaling over $200M. In addition, Ms. Giottonini played a key role in the spinout of a new company and it's successful IPO. Ms. Giottonini previously held business development, marketing, engineering and operational management positions at Gensia, Inc. (Sicor), and Puritan Bennett (Tyco). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Bioengineering from University of California, San Diego.

"I look forward to helping Idun become a successful biopharmaceutical company," said Ms. Giottonini. "The company has a strong management team and maturing product pipeline. The full potential of Idun is just beginning to be realized, and I am excited to be part of it."

Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics in the areas of liver disease, inflammation, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Idun's lead product candidate, IDN-6556, is in clinical studies for liver transplantation and in patients infected with Hepatitis C virus. The company has a number of product candidates in advanced preclinical development for asthma, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Idun has an extensive patent portfolio comprised of 140 issued patents worldwide. Idun's corporate headquarters and research and development facility is located in San Diego, California. For more information please visit the company's web site at www.idun.com .