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VistaGen Appoints Industry Veteran Shawn Singh as Chief Executive Officer


Seasoned Biotech Executive to Lead VistaGen’s Stem Cell-based Clinical Trials in a Test TubeTM Platform Focused on Transforming the Way New Drugs Are Discovered and Developed

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 20, 2009) — VistaGen Therapeutics has named Shawn K. Singh as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Singh was Managing Principal of Cato BioVentures, one of VistaGen’s largest institutional investors, and the Company’s President (part-time). Mr. Singh also served as Chief Business Officer, President, CEO or Chairman of five different biopharmaceutical companies, as well as CBO and General Counsel of Cato Research Ltd., a global contract research and development organization. Ralph Snodgrass, PhD, VistaGen’s founder and former CEO, will continue to serve as President and Chief Scientific Officer. Both Dr. Snodgrass and Mr. Singh are members of VistaGen’s Board of Directors.

VistaGen is one of the leading companies worldwide focused on using the power of stem cell technologies to transform the way new medicines are discovered and developed. The Company’s internal programs are focused on discovery and development of next generation drugs to treat Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes.
“VistaGen is a dynamic company marked by visionary technology, a rich history of innovation and a remarkable ability to navigate through intense economic and political headwinds without veering off course,” said Shawn Singh. “We believe better human response information can lead to better medicine. By using our Clinical Trials in a Test TubeTM platform to focus on how new drugs work in the body and how they interact with people with specific genetic differences, we are confident that our founding vision can become a medical reality.” He added, “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead a team so passionately focused on commercializing science that will make a difference.”

“I have worked with Shawn for eight years, and I strongly support both his appointment as CEO and my new role as President and Chief Scientific Officer,” said Dr. Ralph Snodgrass. “Together, these changes significantly broaden and strengthen our management team, enabling us to accomplish more than ever before, both commercially and scientifically, and I look forward to this new phase in our corporate development.”
“VistaGen is moving rapidly on many business fronts,” said Jon Saxe, VistaGen’s Chairman. “We are fortunate to have available someone of Shawn’s leadership skills and extensive experience with a wide range of life science companies and technologies to lead VistaGen’s efforts to realize the full commercial potential of its stem cell technologies. At the same time, the continued service of our founder, Ralph Snodgrass, as President and CSO is invaluable. Shawn’s availability as CEO on a full- time basis will enable Ralph to devote more time to strategic vision and scientific development of the platform, including collaborations with commercial partners and our esteemed network of academic stem cell research centers.”

VistaGen’s stem cell-based Clinical Trials in a Test TubeTM platform is focused on creating in human cells a comprehensive picture of the intricate details of human biology and human disease in ways that conventional animal models and non-human cell culture systems can only approximate. This enables drug developers to test for drug toxicity and efficacy in the lab quickly and efficiently, before costly human clinical trials.

Mr. Singh began his career as a corporate finance attorney in the Silicon Valley offices of Morrison & Foerster. He later served as Chief Business Officer of SciClone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SCLN), Chief Business Officer and General Counsel of Cato Research Ltd., a global contract research and development organization, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Principal of Cato BioVentures, the venture capital affiliate of Cato Research Ltd, President of Echo Therapeutics (OTCBB: ECTE), Chairman of the Board and President of Durham Pharmaceuticals, President of Artemis Neuroscience, and Chief Executive Officer of Hemodynamic Therapeutics.

Mr. Singh received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from The University of Maryland School of Law. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Echo Therapeutics and Hemodynamic Therapeutics and as a strategic advisor to Cato BioVentures and several other private biopharmaceutical companies.
VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. is a South San Francisco-based biotechnology company that focuses on providing clinically relevant, commercially scalable, human stem cell biology-based screening systems capable of predicting the safety and efficacy of new drugs in ways never before possible. VistaGen’s Clinical Trials in a Test TubeTM platform is designed to generate predictive information that results in reduced probability of clinical trial drug failures, especially failures associated with heart and liver toxicity. VistaGen expects its new-generation stem cell-based human systems biology platform to enhance dramatically the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to deliver innovative drugs for some of the world’s most challenging diseases and conditions.

For more information, visit: http://www.VistaGen.com