CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 27, 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 and Maria Rupnick, M.D., Zafgen co-founder, cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will present a case study of the unique anti-obesity approach and virtual business model employed at Zafgen at the upcoming Xconomy Forum: Tomorrow’s Biotech – Innovators and Innovations. Zafgen’s presentation will take place on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 2:20 p.m. (EDT) at the Biogen Idec corporate headquarters in Cambridge, MA.

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.