New Haven, Connecticut, July 19, 2004 -- Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing the next generation of antibiotics, today announced that C. Boyd Clarke, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neose Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: NTEC), has joined its board of directors.

"Boyd Clarke has enjoyed an extremely successful career in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. His appointment brings extensive business acumen to our Board and completes the composition of skills we were seeking when we set out to bring together a group that encompasses a strong scientific, technology, business and financial base," said Susan Froshauer, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rib-X. "We have spent the past couple of years building a strong team not only internally at Rib-X, but also aligning ourselves with outside directors who have the relevant experience to help guide the Company as it develops new classes of antibiotics that overcome the challenge of multi-drug resistant bacteria. I believe we have that team in place and look forward to working with Boyd as we continue with our progress."

Mr. Clarke has spent the past eight years at the helm of several biotechnology companies and is currently Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neose Technologies, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused on the improvement of protein therapeutics; positions he has held since April, 2002. Prior thereto, Mr. Clarke was President and Chief Executive Officer of Aviron, a company developing vaccines which was acquired by MedImmune. He also served as Chairman of that company from January 2001 through March 2002. Previously, Mr. Clarke was Chief Executive Officer and President of US Bioscience, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on products to treat cancer, which was also acquired by MedImmune. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer of US Bioscience, Inc. from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Clarke began his pharmaceutical career at Merck & Co. where he held a number of positions including being the first President of Paster-Merieux MSD, and Vice President of Merck Vaccines. Mr. Clarke has a BS in Biochemistry and an MA in History from the University of Calgary. Mr. Clarke also serves on the Boards of QLT, Inc. and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

"I enjoy working with companies that distinguish themselves with unique proprietary technology and strong management and that seek to fulfill a vital clinical need within the industry," said C Boyd Clarke. "I believe Rib-X has all that it takes to become a success and I look forward to lending my experience to the Company as it continues to grow."

"Boyd is a talented and experienced biopharmaceutical executive. His varied achievements at the helm of several biotechnology companies will provide Rib-X with valuable business insight and a great resource to our board," said Harry H Penner, Jr, Chairman of the Rib-X Board of Directors.

About Rib-X Pharmaceuticals

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals is a small molecule drug discovery company focused on the structure-based design of new classes of anti-infective agents. The Company's drug discovery strategy is focused on the exploitation of its proprietary high-resolution crystal structure of the 50S subunit of the ribosome, which performs an essential role in the fundamental process of protein synthesis, and to which many known antibiotics bind. The 50S is the target for many clinically important classes of antibiotics, including those used to treat both community-acquired and hospital pathogens. The Company's integrated research approach combines state of the art, proprietary computational analysis, X-ray crystallography, medicinal chemistry, microbiology and biochemistry, allowing for the rapid synthesis of new agents, which avoid typical antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Utilizing these tools, Rib-X has what amounts to a map of the 50S subunit of the ribosome. The Company is utilizing this advantage in the optimization of leads and the creation of new classes of antibiotics.

For more information on the Rib-X mission, please visit the Company website.

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