Press Releases:

November 20, 2003-

Mpex Pharmaceuticals Signs Agreement with Mixture Sciences, Inc. Mixture to provide diverse collection of peptide and peptide-derived small molecule compounds to support the discovery of new antibacterial agents.

San Diego, CA - November 20, 2003 - Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Mpex") and Mixture Sciences, Inc. ("Mixture") announced today that they have entered into a research collaboration that utilizes Mixture's combinatorial libraries to identify novel lead compounds appropriate for antibacterial development by Mpex.
Mpex is pursuing the discovery of new broad-spectrum antibiotics that meet the growing clinical need created by multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens. To identify these new agents, Mpex is utilizing its proprietary assay technology to screen new sources of diversity to identify agents that have activity against the Mpex targets. "Mixture has one of the most extensive libraries of peptide and peptide-derived small molecule compounds," states Bill Gerhart, President and CEO of Mpex. "We believe this unique source of diversity will result in promising lead compounds against one or more of the Mpex targets."

Mixture Sciences, Inc., www.mixturesciences.com, is a privately held biotechnology company specializing in biomedical research and drug discovery. Mixture uses a combination of proprietary and in-licensed technologies for the discovery of therapeutic and diagnostic candidates for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and infectious diseases, including Lyme Disease. The Mixture technologies have been validated and used by numerous members of the academic and corporate community over the past decade. "Our success comes from being a worldwide leader in the use of mixture-based chemical libraries," states Richard Houghten, President and CEO of Mixture. "Our unique position allows us to provide our collaborators exceptional technologies and expertise." Mixture Sciences, Inc. is committed to developing, improving, patenting and in-licensing new technologies in order to provide our collaborators with the most cost efficient methods for identifying ligands.

Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., www.mpexpharma.com, is an early-stage, privately held biotechnology company founded in 2001 to apply its proprietary membrane protein expression ("Mpex") technology to the discovery of new antibacterials. Mpex is uniquely targeting channels, transporters, and other novel membrane protein targets to develop new broad-spectrum antibiotics with stronger Gram-negative activity. The Company is utilizing its proprietary technologies, extensive antimicrobial expertise, and collaborative relationships to identify and validate these novel targets and has thus far initiated two research programs focused on novel compounds that potentiate antibiotics to significantly increase their spectrum of activity.