CAMBRIDGE, Mass., October 16, 2008 – Zafgen Inc., a private venture-backed biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel obesity therapeutics today announced that Thomas Hughes, Ph.D. will present at the 2008 Boston Biotech R&D Conference, at 8:20 a.m. (EST) on October 22, 2008 at Harvard Medical School. This conference will bring luminaries from top academic institutions that have been instrumental in establishing the strong Boston biotech community together with executives from several of the area’s most promising emerging biopharmaceutical companies and leaders from the venture capital community and equity markets.

Dr. Hughes will present a lecture entitled “Targeting adipose vasculature for new anti-obesity therapeutics” in a session moderated by Charles Duncan, JMP Securities. During the presentation, Dr. Hughes will discuss Zafgen’s role as the first biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of anti-obesity agents targeting adipose vasculature. Adipose is exceptional for its capacity to grow and shrink in response to dietary intake and physiological controls, but has yet to be approached as a target organ for new therapies. This plasticity is dependent upon the ability of adipose tissue to remodel and grow new blood vessels. Dr. Hughes will discuss in further detail Zafgen’s groundbreaking approach, which directly targets the adipose vasculature in order to shrink fat cells and help the body sustain a lean, healthy state.

“We are very pleased to be participating in the first ever Boston Biotech R&D conference,” said Dr. Hughes. “Obesity is a global epidemic, afflicting an estimated 400 million people worldwide, which also leads to an expanding prevalence of obesity-related co-morbidities, including type 2 diabetes. We are excited to be at the leading edge of a major therapeutic advance in treating obesity. The R&D Conference is an excellent venue to share Zafgen’s novel approach to obesity with our peers in the Boston R&D community.”

About Zafgen Inc.
Zafgen Inc. is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel obesity therapeutics based on vascular targeting in adipose tissue (fat). Zafgen’s groundbreaking approach directly targets adipose vasculature to shrink fat cells and help the body sustain a lean, healthy state. Adipose tissue is unique among all tissues in the body for its capacity to expand and contract based on nutritional and metabolic requirements, and this plasticity is acutely dependent upon an ability to remodel and grow new blood vessels. 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. 

About The Boston Biotech R&D Conference
The 2008 Boston Biotech R&D Conference will take place at Harvard Medical School and will highlight the work of top academics as well as up-and-coming biotech companies in the Boston area. The agenda features keynotes from several luminaries in medicine and research, including Jeffrey S. Flier, Dean of Harvard Medical School, Leonard Guarente, Ronald Kahn, Eric S. Lander, Robert Langer, Phillip Sharp, David Sinclair, as well as CEOs of the next generation of leading biotech and pharma companies from the Boston area. The conference is sponsored by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., Pure Communications Inc., and Rodman & Renshaw, LLC. For more information, visit www.bostonbiotechconference.com.