Amira Pharmaceuticals Named One of Most Promising Biotech Companies by FierceBiotech's Annual Fierce 15

SAN DIEGO, September 15, 2010 - Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today was named one of the most promising
biotech companies by FierceBiotech through its annual list, the Fierce 15.

Every year FierceBiotech evaluates hundreds of private companies for its
annual list, which is based on a variety of factors such as the strength of
its technology, partnerships and a competitive market position. A complete
list of "Fierce 15" companies is available online at
www.fiercebiotech.com.

"The management at Amira knows how to ration its venture cash," says John
Carroll, editor of FierceBiotech. "Working with a mere US$28 million from
four funds since it was founded five years ago, the developer struck a
partnership in 2008 with GlaxoSmithKline that has helped fuel its in-house
work. Amira's US$425 million deal with Glaxo was a hand-off, giving GSK
researchers the ball to run with. And the pharma giant has done just that,
pushing the FLAP inhibitor into Phase II and reporting a pair of its latest
milestone successes in July. Amira's next deal will likely be structured much
like the Glaxo pact, says CEO Bob Baltera, a savvy Amgen vet, as the program
is aimed at a big commercial market."

Added Bob Baltera, CEO of Amira, "We are honored to be part of the Fierce
15 this year. The team at Amira has worked diligently from the beginning to
move multiple programs through early development. We now look forward to
having our next program, an LPA1 antagonist, begin clinic investigation this
year as a potential anti-fibrotic therapy. We will continue our discovery and
development activities in the LPA pathway for additional potential treatments
of various diseases, such as scleroderma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)
and various cancers."

About Amira

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in San Diego, Amira Pharmaceuticals is
a small molecule pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and early
development of new drugs to treat inflammatory disease. Our discovery team is
building on unparalleled insights into bioactive lipid pathways and complex
signaling processes controlling many conditions including asthma, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular and fibrotic diseases.

Amira has a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline for the development of FLAP
(5-lipoxygenase activating protein) inhibitors in respiratory and
cardiovascular disease. Amira combines the rigor of a big pharmaceutical
company with the ingenuity and energy of a small company, creating an
environment for efficient development of novel compounds and effective
pre-clinical and clinical program decisions. Its scientific founders have
successfully worked together for more than a decade and were pivotal in the
discovery of a number of inflammatory drugs, including Singulair(R). The drug
hunters at Amira are now actively leveraging their history of success to
create high-value compounds for the future. For more information, visit
www.amirapharm.com.

About FierceBiotech

FierceBiotech is the biotech industry's daily monitor - a free email
newsletter and web resource providing the latest biotech news, articles, and
resources related to clinical trials, drug discovery, FDA approval and
regulation, biotech company deals and more. More than 75,000 top biotech
professionals rely on FierceBiotech for an insider briefing on the day's top
stories. Sign up is free at www.fiercebiotech.com.

Ian Stone of Russo Partners, +1-619-528-2220, ian.stone at russopartnersllc.com; or Heather Cox Martin of FierceMarkets, Inc., +1-202-824-5043, heather at fiercemarkets.com