New Hires Support STA-4783 Late Stage Development

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2007--Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: SNTA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced two key hires to its management team. Dr. Anthony Williams has joined Synta as Vice President of Clinical Research and Mary Drummond has joined the Company as Director of Commercial Development for Oncology.

"Tony and Mary are key additions to our oncology team as we enter a critical period in the development of STA-4783, our lead drug candidate," said Safi Bahcall, President and CEO of Synta. "Their depth of knowledge and experience provides us with important additional expertise that will help us achieve our goals for STA-4783 in melanoma and other cancer indications."

Anthony Williams, MD, FRCP has over two decades experience in oncology-focused drug development, including designing and overseeing clinical trials in melanoma, pancreatic carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, sarcoma, leukemia, and lymphoma, among others. Prior to joining Synta, he was interim Chief Medical Officer at Genvec, a company focused on developing treatments for oncology and macular degeneration. Previously he was Senior Vice President and head of U.S. Clinical Development at Fresenius Biotechnology North America, overseeing clinical trials in oncology. Prior to these two companies, he worked at a number of different companies including Glaxo Group Research, Marion Merrell Dow, Dyax Corp, and Aronex Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Williams received his undergraduate degree from Trinity College, Cambridge University, in the UK, and received his medical degree from University College Hospital Medical School in London. His professional affiliations include Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Mary Drummond has joined Synta as Director, Commercial Development for Oncology. Ms. Drummond joined Synta from Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where during her five year tenure in Millennium's oncology commercial organization she held both strategic and tactical leadership roles for each of VELCADE's three indication launches (3rd line multiple myeloma, 2nd line multiple myeloma, and 2nd line mantle cell lymphoma). In addition, she played a pivotal role in building the company's original marketing and medical affairs functions. Prior to Millennium, she was the Senior Director of Sales and Marketing at Rosetta Inpharmatics, now Merck & Co, and has held several other marketing management roles in biotechnology and technology-focused companies. Her experience bridges the entire spectrum of marketing, ranging from early market analysis and planning to sales and marketing strategy for commercialized products. Ms. Drummond holds a BA from George Washington University, Washington DC, and an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, CA.

About STA-4783

STA-4783 is a novel, injectable, small molecule investigational drug candidate that induces a potent oxidative stress response in cancer cells, driving programmed cell death and increased anti-tumor immune activity. In September 2006, Synta reported positive Phase 2b results for STA-4783 in combination with paclitaxel in a double-blind, randomized, controlled, multi-center clinical trial in patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma. In November 2006, Synta received Fast-track designation from the FDA for the development of STA-4783 in metastatic melanoma. Synta plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for STA-4783 in mid-2007 and one or more Phase 2 studies in other cancer indications later in the year.

About Synta Pharmaceuticals

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to extend and enhance the lives of patients with severe medical conditions, including cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. Synta has a unique chemical compound library, an integrated discovery engine, and a diverse pipeline of clinical and preclinical-stage drug candidates with distinct mechanisms of action and novel chemical structures. All Synta drug candidates were discovered and developed internally. For more information, please see www.syntapharma.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This media release may contain forward-looking statements about Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. Such forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including those described in described in Item 1A "Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Synta undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    CONTACT: Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp.
             Rob Kloppenburg, 781-541-7125
             or
             MacDougall Biomedical Communications
             Doug MacDougall, 508-647-0209

    SOURCE: Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp.