Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. Appoints Pharmaceutical Industry Veteran Nicholas G. Bacopoulos, Ph.D. to Board of Directors

Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. Appoints Pharmaceutical Industry Veteran Nicholas G. Bacopoulos, Ph.D. to Board of Directors

July 12, 2007

    CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Mersana Therapeutics, a cancer therapeutics company,
announced today the appointment of Nicholas G. Bacopoulos,
Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. A 24-year industry
veteran, Dr. Bacopoulos brings to Mersana extensive
top-level management experience in the biopharmaceutical
industry including the discovery and development of new
products in several therapeutic areas, including oncology. 


    "We are very pleased to welcome Nick to our board
of directors at this pivotal point in Mersana's
development," stated Julie A. Olson, Ph.D., President
and CEO of Mersana  "His extensive product development
experience, especially in oncology, will be invaluable as
our lead product, XMT-1001, continues to progress in the
clinic."

    "Mersana's proprietary Fleximer technology and
novel approach to drug development have the potential to
create important new products," commented Nicholas
Bacopoulos, Ph.D. "There is an enormous unmet medical
need for new cancer treatments and I am looking forward to
contributing to Mersana's efforts as an active member of
their board of directors."

    Dr. Bacopoulos has extensive experience with the
discovery and development of anticancer agents. Previously,
as CEO and President at Aton Pharma, Inc. he oversaw the
advancement of the company's lead product, Zolinza(R),
which later became the first histone deacetylase inhibitor
(HDACi) to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Aton was acquired by Merck & Co. in 2004. Dr. Bacopoulos
also served as President and Head of Research and
Development at OSI Pharmaceuticals which entered into
collaborative agreements with Genentech and Roche for the
worldwide development of the oncology product Tarceva(R), a
product he began development of while at Pfizer. During his
17-year tenure at Pfizer, Dr. Bacopoulos directed the
Neuroscience and Cancer Research Groups and contributed to
the development of several important pharmaceutical
products including Tarceva(R), Aricept(R), Zeldox(R) and
Zoloft(R).

    Dr. Bacopoulos received his B.A. degree from Cornell
College and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa.
He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University
School of Medicine and was a member of the faculty of
Dartmouth Medical School. He serves on the Board of
Directors of several ventures, including Medexis. S.A. and
MAKScientific, LLC. 

    About Fleximer Technology

    Mersana is transforming oncology product development by
creating new drugs from known active anti-cancer agents
through application of its Fleximer technology platform.
Fleximer is a novel, biodegradable and bio-inert polymer
that can be chemically linked to existing drugs, including
small chemical entities, peptides and biologics.
Fleximer-based compounds can be individually designed to
improve the therapeutic performance of drugs by modulating
such properties as circulation time and release, while
significantly improving rate-limiting toxicity profiles.  

    About Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.

    Mersana, a privately held, venture backed company,
utilizes its proprietary technology platform to transform
existing and experimental anti-cancer agents into new,
patentable drugs with superior pharmaceutical properties.
The key component of Mersana's platform is Fleximer(R), a
novel, biodegradable and bio-inert material that can be
chemically linked to existing drugs, including small
molecules and biologics. Mersana's pipeline includes
XMT-1001, a Fleximer-camptothecin conjugate, which is
currently in Phase 1 clinical trials and several
preclinical stage oncology compounds. Mersana's investors
include Fidelity Biosciences, ProQuest Investments, Rho
Ventures, Harris & Harris Group and PureTech Ventures.

    Fleximer(R) is a trademark of Mersana Therapeutics,
Inc.  Zolinza(R) is a trademark of Merck & Co., Inc.
Tarceva(R) is a trademark of OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aricept(R) is a trademark of Eisai Co. Ltd. Zelodox(R) and
Zoloft(R) are trademarks of Pfizer, Inc.






    For more information, please contact:

     Pete Leone, Chief Operating Officer 
     Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.
     Tel:   [phone]

     Kathryn Morris 
     KMorrisPR for Mersana Therapeutics
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]