Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Appoints Paul Truex to Board of Directors

Industry Veteran with Business Development and Transactional Expertise Joins
Eiger Board of Directors

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 17, 2009 /PRNewswire/ -- Eiger BioPharmaceuticals,
Inc., a biotechnology company developing antiviral therapies with a focus on
the NS4B Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) protein, announced today the appointment of
Paul Truex to its Board of Directors.

Truex is the founder, President and CEO of Anthera Pharmaceuticals - a private
pharmaceutical company focused on the development of anti-inflammatory
products for life threatening cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
Previously' he was Founder, President and CEO of Peninsula Pharmaceuticals
where he negotiated both of Peninsula's anti-infective product agreements with
Shionogi & Co.' Ltd. and Takeda Chemical Industries respectively. Peninsula
was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2005 for $245 million. Previously, Mr.
Truex held positions at Versicor (Vicuron), which was acquired by Pfizer for
$1.9 billion, and at Eli Lilly. Mr. Truex obtained his M.B.A. in Marketing
and Finance from Indiana University and a B.A. Degree in International
Economics from the University of Waterloo.

"We are delighted to have Mr. Truex join Eiger's Board as an Independent
Director," said David Cory, President and CEO of Eiger. "Paul will bring
valuable experience to our corporate strategy and development as we advance
both preclinical and clinical programs at Eiger."

"The combination of newly discovered HCV targets along with clinical and
preclinical small molecule inhibitors already identified by Eiger make this a
very exciting opportunity in the infectious disease space," said Paul Truex.
"I'm looking forward to working with the Eiger board and management team to
build a successful company."

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals recently announced the acquisition of exclusive
license to novel HCV technology discovered in the labs of Stanford scientist
and Eiger Founder Dr. Jeffrey Glenn, MD, PhD. This technology targets a
specific region found in the HCV protein NS4B, which binds to HCV-RNA and is
required for virus replication. Disrupting the function of this protein
provides for a new method to treat HCV infection and can help combat drug
resistance to HCV polymerase and protease inhibitors.

About Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. www.eigerbio.com
Eiger is focused on the discovery and development of new antiviral agents
against novel targets for the treatment of hepatitis virus infection. Eiger's
pipeline includes repurposed clinical stage therapeutic agents as well as NCEs
from discovery that exhibit antiviral activity against Hepatitis C, Hepatitis
D, and other viruses. Eiger investors include InterWest Partners
www.interwest.com and Vivo Ventures www.vivoventures.com.

Contact:
1-650-320-9900
info@eigerbio.com

SOURCE Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, +1-650-320-9900, info@eigerbio.com