Metabasis Hires Financial Advisor to Evaluate Strategic Alternatives

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MBRX) announced today that it has hired Merriman Curhan Ford as its financial advisor to assist the Company in exploring and evaluating strategic alternatives. At this time, Metabasis has not made a decision to pursue any specific transaction or other strategic alternative, and there can be no assurance that this process will result in any specific transaction or other strategic alternative. Metabasis does not intend to comment further on this process unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a specific transaction or other strategic alternative.

About Metabasis (www.mbasis.com):

Metabasis is a biopharmaceutical company that has discovered novel drugs for metabolic diseases using its proprietary technology and its knowledge of processes and pathways within the liver that are useful for liver-selective drug targeting and treatment of metabolic diseases. The Company has established a broad pipeline of product candidates and advanced discovery programs targeting large markets with significant unmet needs. The Company’s product pipeline includes clinical-stage product candidates and advanced discovery programs for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia, as well as product candidates and advanced discovery programs for the treatment of liver diseases such as hepatitis and primary liver cancer. All of the Company’s product candidates were developed internally.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements." Such statements include, but are not limited to, references to the Company’s exploration and evaluation of strategic alternatives. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Metabasis' actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to Metabasis' ability to identify and, if applicable, complete any particular transaction or other strategic alternative; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Metabasis' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Metabasis is providing this information as of this date of this release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.