CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 14, 2009 – Zafgen, Inc., a private venture-backed biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel obesity therapeutics, today announced that Thomas Hughes, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer has been selected to participate on a panel at the BIO 2009 International Convention on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Building A, Level 4.

The session, titled “Industry is from Mars, Academia from Venus,” will focus on creating effective and productive cooperation between companies and academic institutions. Participants will discuss the opportunities and challenges of managing such partnerships.

“I am looking forward to participating in this session at BIO and discussing the unique opportunities and challenges that both parties face in collaborations between industry and academia,” stated Dr. Hughes. “Both at Zafgen and in my prior work at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research leading drug discovery research on type 2 diabetes, I’ve been integrally involved in these kinds of partnerships, which can be mutually beneficial to both public and private organizations. At Zafgen, the success of our virtual business model relies on vibrant and productive collaborations. We have a strong portfolio of research agreements and contracts in place to advance Zafgen’s development efforts and to further our scientific understanding of the central role played by adipose tissue in obesity.”

About Zafgen, Inc.
Zafgen is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel obesity therapeutics that directly target and shrink fat tissue to help the body regain and sustain a lean, healthy state. Adipose tissue (fat) is composed primarily of cells that store unused calories, as well as an extensive network of blood vessels that support the tissue. The nature of the tissue and the interplay between fat cells and the supporting blood vessels play a critical and active role in determining the overall size of the fat tissue, and therefore, an individual’s weight. Zafgen’s groundbreaking approach targets obesity at its root cause by safely manipulating and shrinking the blood supply to fat tissue, driving the loss of fat and a return to a more healthy body weight. Zafgen's leadership and scientific advisors include the leading experts in obesity, metabolic disorders and medicinal chemistry. Founded in 2005, the company is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.zafgen.com.