Inhibitex Announces Data Presentation at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease

Inhibitex Announces Data Presentation at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)
Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:29am EDT

INX-189 Exhibits Favorable Pharmacology Profile in Preclinical Studies
ATLANTA--(Business Wire)--
Inhibitex, Inc. (NASDAQ: INHX) announced today that a poster presentation
describing preclinical data on INX-189, the lead compound from its HCV
nucleotide polymerase inhibitor program, will be presented by Dr. Joseph M.
Patti, Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of R&D, at the 60th
Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
(AASLD) in Boston, MA. The full abstract can be viewed at the AASLD website at
www.aasld.org.

The poster (#1611 Patti, et al), entitled "Pharmacological Properties and In
Vitro Characterization of INX-189, a Liver Targeted Phosphoramidate Nucleoside
Analogue Inhibitor of NS5b" will be presented in the HCV Therapy: Preclinical
and Early Clinical Development session from 8:00 am - 1:00 pm on Tuesday,
November 3rd, 2009.

About HCV and Protides

Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It
is estimated that approximately 4 million Americans and 170 million individuals
worldwide are infected with HCV. HCV can cause chronic liver disease, cirrhosis
and cancer, and is the leading cause of liver transplant in the United States.
Inhibitex is developing a series of proprietary phosphoramidates, or protide
nucleoside inhibitors, that target the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5b) of
HCV. Protides are designed to by-pass the rate limiting first step in the
formation of the active nucleoside triphosphate. INX-189 is a protide of a
2`-C-methyl guanosine analogue. The Company believes that its protides possess
several pharmacological advantages over nucleosides alone and potentially other
nucleotide prodrugs. These advantages include greater potency, a rapid
conversion of the protide into its active form in the liver, and potentially
less toxicity due to reduced systemic exposure of the nucleoside.

About Inhibitex

Inhibitex, Inc., headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, is a biopharmaceutical
company focused on developing products to treat serious infectious diseases. In
addition to INX-189, the Company`s pipeline includes FV-100, its clinical-stage
nucleoside analogue in Phase II development for the treatment of herpes zoster
(shingles). The Company has also licensed the use of its proprietary MSCRAMM®
protein technology to Wyeth for the development of staphylococcal vaccines.

For additional information about the Company, please visit www.inhibitex.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks
and uncertainties. All statements, other than historical facts included in this
press release, including statements regarding the Company`s belief that its
protides possess several pharmacological advantages over nucleosides alone and
potentially other nucleoside prodrugs, are forward looking statements. These
results and expectations may not be achieved in the future and various important
factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements that the Company makes, including the risk of: the
Company not obtaining regulatory approval on a timely basis, or at all, to
advance the development of INX-189 into clinical trials; the results of ongoing
or future preclinical studies of INX-189 not supporting its further development;
obtaining, maintaining and protecting the intellectual property incorporated
into and supporting the commercial viability of the Company`s product
candidates; and other cautionary statements contained elsewhere herein and in
its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, as filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on March 23, 2009 and its
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 as filed with
the SEC on August 12, 2009. Given these uncertainties, you should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the
date of this press release.

There may be events in the future that the Company is unable to predict
accurately, or over which it has no control. The Company's business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects may change. The Company may not
update these forward-looking statements, even though its situation may change in
the future, unless it has obligations under the Federal securities laws to
update and disclose material developments related to previously disclosed
information. The Company qualifies all of the information contained in this
press release, and particularly its forward-looking statements, by these
cautionary statements.

Inhibitex® and MSCRAMM® are registered trademarks of Inhibitex, Inc.

Inhibitex, Inc.
Russell H. Plumb, 678-746-1136
Chief Executive Officer
rplumb@inhibitex.com