NEWS & COMMENTS

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     As the market seems to slip in pre-hour trading, Some biotech firms might have news that increases investors enthusiasm to buy their stocks even in a sliding market. ViroPharma for example, has come with two smiling news, one about results from Phase 1b of its chronic hepatitis C  product HCV-796 and the second about the appointment of a great personality, Howard H. Pien to its board of directors.

AGAIN, INVESTORS TRUST GOOD MANAGEMENT

While Appreciating Promising Drugs

VIROPHARMA (VPHM),

     Viropharma's drug HCV-796 is an orally dosed non-nucleoside viral polymerase inhibitor with the potential to interfere with the replication of hepatitis C virus. The drug is being co-developed with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (WYE). The promising results, which were presented at the 2006 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) conference in Los Angeles, California, concluded that, administered as monotherapy for 14 days, HCV-796 displayed dose-related antiviral activity. The positive activity was across multiple genotypes. The peak response was achieved at the 500 to 1000 mg twice daily dose.

Very promising was the fact that the drug was well tolerated in this study with no dose-limiting toxicities across the range of study doses. In addition, patients receiving HCV-796 achieved rapid  and substantial reductions in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels during the treatment period. Elevated ALT levels are common in HCV patients and are considered to be a marker of liver injury due to HCV infection.

      With regard to appointing Howard H. Pien, the news is appreciated by investors as the man who was a former director of Viropharma has had a great career with great accomplishments. He was the former chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Chiron, which he joined as president and chief executive officer and a director in April 2003. In May 2004, he was elected chairman of the board. He previously held key positions in SmithKline Beecham's pharmaceuticals business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and North Asia. Prior to joining SmithKline Beecham, he worked six years for Abbott Laboratories and five years for Merck & Co., in positions of sales, marketing research licensing and product management. Mr. Pien served as a director of ViroPharma from 1998 to 2003, and currently serves as a director of non- profit organizations, including Oakland Children's Hospital. Mr. Pien holds a B.S. degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Carnegie-Mellon University.

The response to both good news will definitely have a positive effect on Viropharma’s stock.

READ MORE: ViroPharma Announces Presentation of HCV-796 Phase 1b Data at Digestive Disease Week

READ MORE: ViroPharma Announces Reappointment of Howard Pien to Board of Directors

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