Cambridge, MA, May 5, 2009 – Zafgen, Inc., a private venture-backed biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel obesity therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Matthias Jaffe to chief financial officer and vice president of business development. Mr. Jaffe brings to Zafgen extensive finance, acquisition and business development experience.

“I am very pleased to welcome Matthias to his role on our leadership team,” said Thomas Hughes, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Zafgen. “As we advance our corporate and clinical development strategy, Matthias’ deep financial and business development expertise will be invaluable.”

Mr. Jaffe brings over ten years of experience in corporate finance and strategic management to his new role. Prior to joining Zafgen, Mr. Jaffe served as chief financial officer in a number of private, venture-backed life science organizations, most recently with Alantos Pharmaceuticals. During his time with Alantos, he successfully led the company through its acquisition by Amgen for more than $300 million in cash. Previously, Mr. Jaffe was a principal at Earlybird Venture Capital, based in Munich Germany and worked at the Boston Consulting Group, as a member of their pharmaceutical practice group. Mr. Jaffe holds a M.S. in molecular biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.B.A. from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France) and a B.S. in chemistry from Universidad Simon Bolivar (Caracas, Venezuela).

“I am very excited to join Zafgen at this important time in the company’s growth,” said Mr. Jaffe. “The promise of developing new therapeutics to treat the growing obesity epidemic by targeting and shrinking fat tissue is groundbreaking and presents an extremely exciting opportunity. I look forward to bringing my leadership and management capabilities to the team as we seek to develop this novel treatment option.”

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.