Sirtris Pharmaceuticals CEO Christoph Westphal Wins Ernst & Young New England Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Cambridge, MA – June 16th, 2006 -- Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, the leading sirtuin therapeutics company, today announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., has been awarded the Ernst & Young New England Entrepreneur of the Year in the category Biopharmaceutical. The Ernst & Young award celebrates the role of the entrepreneurial spirit in the development of new technologies, the improvement of quality of life, and the creation of strong and vibrant corporations. Dr. Westphal was among several regional entrepreneurs who were honored last night at an event hosted by Ernst & Young in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is developing and commercializing novel therapeutics based on modulating sirtuins, a recently discovered family of enzymes that promotes the body’s natural defense against disease. Whereas most pharmaceutical discovery efforts look to control or shut off harmful, disease-causing genes or mutations, Sirtris is taking a different approach: activating the body’s own health-promoting genes to fight diseases of aging. Working to build a deep pipeline of therapeutics that harness the power of the natural sirtuin pathways, the company recently announced that it had completed dosing in the first ever Phase 1 trial of a sirtuin therapeutic. Sirtris is focused on developing drugs to treat diabetes and neurological disorders.

“This award reflects the focus, spirit and dedication of Christoph in building Sirtris, one of several companies he has founded that apply breakthrough science to create novel therapeutics,” said Phil Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor, MIT, Sirtris Scientific Advisory Board member, Nobel Laureate, and founder of Biogen and Alnylam. “As he is doing at Sirtris, Christoph has a unique talent to bring together the science, intellectual property, financial capital, and people needed to launch a strong and vital biotech start-up.”

Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D. is the co-founder, CEO and Vice Chairman of Sirtris. Prior to Sirtris, he was a partner at Polaris Venture Partners. Christoph co-founded Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY), Momenta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MNTA), and Acceleron Pharma as CEO and Vice Chairman. Christoph also co-founded Nanosys and led investments in Advion, Athenix, GI Dynamics, Hydra and Saegis. Christoph received his M.D., Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School and spent two years at McKinsey and Company.

Across the United States, hundreds of inspiring and innovative individuals were selected as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalists. Beginning in June, winners in 26 regions are honored locally for their vision, leadership, and ability to grow the successful businesses that help sustain our economy. These winners, including Dr. Westphal, will be eligible for the national awards, to be presented by Ernst & Young in Palm Springs in November.

About Sirtuins

Sirtuins are a recently-discovered family of enzymes that promote the body’s natural defense against disease. There are seven human sirtuins (SIRT1-7), each having a different sub-cellular localization. Critical to the survival of organisms in adverse conditions, sirtuins are fundamental in the biological processes of most life forms. Sirtuins are attractive drug targets since some have a specialized function in mitochondrial activity which may be therapeutically beneficial for metabolic and neurological diseases. By harnessing a natural process, sirtuin therapeutics offer the potential for a novel class of drugs that can treat significant diseases of aging, such as diabetes, in a new way.

About Sirtris Pharmaceuticals

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing novel therapeutics that modulate sirtuins. Sirtris has the dominant sirtuin intellectual property estate and know-how with a comprehensive suite of reagents, proprietary assays, transgenic animal models, and biomarkers. Sirtris is building a robust pipeline of therapeutics for diseases of aging like metabolic and neurological diseases.

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals was founded by Rich Aldrich, Richard Pops, Paul Schimmel, David Sinclair and Christoph Westphal, and has raised a total of $82 million since inception. Its investors include Polaris Venture Partners, TVM Capital, Cardinal Partners, Skyline Ventures, Three Arch Partners, The Wellcome Trust, Bessemer Venture Partners, Novartis Bioventures Fund, Cargill Ventures, Genzyme Ventures, QVT Fund LP, Cycad Group, Hunt Ventures, Red Abbey, and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. The company’s headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For additional information, please visit http://www.sirtrispharma.com.

Media Contact:

Kathryn Morris

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