Avalon to Host Conference Call on AVN944 Phase I Interim Results on December 14, 2006 at 8 a.m. EST

GERMANTOWN, Md., Dec. 8  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq and NYSE Arca: AVRX), today announced that it is will release interim results on the Phase I clinical trial of AVN944 on Wednesday, December 13th, after the close of the U.S. financial markets.  The Company will also host a conference call on Thursday, December 14, 2006 at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time to provide the update.  Interested investors, analysts, members of the media and the general public can listen to the call live over the Internet from the investor section of the Company's website or by dialing the numbers listed below.

  Conference Call Details:
  Dial-In:      [phone] (U.S.)
                [phone] (International)
                Passcode: 78269925
  Webcast:      Please go to http://www.avalonrx.com/, Investors, within 15
                minutes prior to the call and select the webcast link.
                The conference call replay will be available through
                June 1, 2007 on Avalon's website (http://www.avalonrx.com/).

  About AVN944


AVN944 is an oral small molecule drug candidate that inhibits inosine monosphospate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), an enzyme that is critical for cells to be able to synthesize guanosine triphosphate (GTP), a molecule required for DNA synthesis and cellular signaling. IMPDH is over expressed in some cancer cells, especially in the case of hematological malignancies. In laboratory experiments, AVN944 has been shown to inhibit IMPDH activity in cells, and suppress pools of GTP. Anticancer activities of IMPDH inhibitors correlate with sustained depletion of GTP pools both in cellular models and in human subjects. AVN944 appears to have a selective effect on cancer cells in that deprivation of GTP in normal cells results in a temporary slowing of cell growth, while GTP deprivation in cancer cells induces cell death, or apoptosis.

Results from preclinical studies of AVN944 indicate that AVN944 inhibited the proliferation of lymphoid and myeloid cells, the principal cells involved in the most common types of human leukemias. In a single-dose, dose-escalation Phase I clinical trial of AVN944 conducted in the United Kingdom in healthy volunteers, AVN944: (1) was well tolerated at all tested doses with no notable side effects; (2) demonstrated good pharmacokinetic properties; and (3) had a significant inhibitory effect on IMPDH enzyme activity. Avalon filed an IND with the FDA in August 2005 and initiated U.S. Phase I clinical trials in January 2006 for the treatment of hematological cancers.

About Avalon Pharmaceuticals

Avalon Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company using its proprietary technology, AvalonRx(R), to discover and develop cancer therapeutics.  Avalon has a lead product in Phase I clinical development (AVN944 - IMPDH inhibitor), preclinical programs to discover inhibitors for the Beta-catenin, Aurora and Survivin pathways and drug discovery collaborations with MedImmune, Novartis, ChemDiv and Medarex.. Avalon Pharmaceuticals was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Germantown, Md. 

DATASOURCE: Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.



CONTACT:  Gary Lessing, Executive Vice President and CFO of Avalon

Pharmaceuticals, [phone], FAX, [phone], or email,

, or Media: Wendy Lau of Noonan Russo, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.avalonrx.com/ 

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