ARYx Therapeutics Completes Series D Financing

ARYx Therapeutics Inc., a private drug discovery and development company, announced today that it completed a $55 million Series D financing. The financing round was led by Nomura Phase4 Ventures, based in London. The company plans to use the funds to develop its two clinical programs, ATI-2042 and ATI-7505, through to partnerable Phase 2 data, and to move a third compound into clinical development.

In addition to Nomura Phase4 Ventures, other new investors participating in this financing round include JAFCO Life Science Investments, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, Montreux Equity Partners, Novel Bioventures, Itochu International and ATEL Ventures. The company’s existing investors - MPM Capital, OrbiMed and Merlin BioMed - also participated in the fundraising. In connection with the fundraising, Paul Sekhri, president and chief business officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA), will join the board of directors of ARYx.

“We are very pleased to have such a strong group of international investors join with us to support our efforts,” said Peter Milner, chief executive officer of ARYx Therapeutics. “With the closing of our Series D round of financing and the initiation of the company’s second clinical trial program, ARYx is well positioned to hit a number of key corporate and clinical milestones.”

“ARYx has done very well to get two promising drug opportunities into the clinic in short order using limited resources,” said Denise Pollard-Knight, head of Nomura Phase4 Ventures. “With its strong management team, compelling clinical stage programs and a proven discovery engine, we believe ARYx has the key elements of a successful biotech company.”

ARYx anticipates that through the application of its proprietary retrometabolic chemistry approach, the company can engineer-out metabolism and other safety problems in valuable drugs. Based on this approach, ARYx has forwarded two products into Phase I clinical trials. ATI-2042 is a treatment for atrial fibrillation and ATI-7505 is under development as a treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and gastroparesis.

For more information, contact:

David Nagler
ARYx Therapeutics Inc.
+1.408.869.2761 x 211

Nina Ferrari
Fleishman-Hillard
+1.415.264.8796

Denise Pollard-Knight
Nomura Phase4 Ventures
+44.20.7521.2000

About Nomura Phase4 Ventures
Nomura Phase4 Ventures (“NPV”) is a division of London based Nomura International plc, part of The Nomura Group. Established in 2004, NPV has evolved from Nomura’s BioPharma Private Equity Group which has been operating since 1998. NPV invests in private companies in the US and Europe in the emerging healthcare space (biopharma, speciality pharmaceuticals and medical devices) through the fund Nomura Phase4 Ventures LP. The group works with a number of senior advisors with extensive operating experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

About ARYx Therapeutics Inc.
ARYx Therapeutics is a privately-held pharmaceutical research and development company focused on treating significant medical needs unresolved by currently available therapies due to limitations in drug design and metabolism problems. By utilizing its innovative and integrated drug design strategies, ARYx improves today’s drugs, making proven therapies safer. ARYx currently has two products in Phase I clinical trials. ARYx Therapeutics was founded in 1997 by Peter Milner and Pascal Druzgala. For more information on the company, please see the company’s web site at www.aryx.com.