San Diego, California, May 4, 2011. Aires Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the hiring of Ed Parsley, D.O. as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Parsley will fill a key role on Aires’ leadership team and will be responsible for all clinical development activities for Aironite™, the company’s lead product for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Dr. Parsley joins Aires from Pfizer where he was the Clinical Lead for ongoing clinical trials for Revatio™ (Sildenafil), Pfizer’s approved drug to treat PAH, as well as the additional compounds in Pfizer’s pulmonary vascular disease portfolio. Dr. Parsley previously worked at CSL Biotherapies and Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he was the Executive Director for Global Medical Affairs and Drug Safety developing an endothelin antagonist for pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and resistant hypertension.

Dr. Parsley is a practicing physician and Board certified in Pulmonary, Internal Medicine, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. Prior to joining industry, he was an assistant professor and medical director at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

“We are excited to welcome Ed to our team”, stated Wendy Johnson, President & CEO of Aires. “Ed brings a wealth of experience developing drugs for treatment of PAH and other pulmonary vascular diseases. He is well known in the PAH community and will make immediate contributions to shaping and executing our clinical development program.”

About Aires                                                                                                                                                                   Aires Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held drug development company located in San Diego developing Aironite™ for cardiopulmonary indications such as pulmonary arterial hypertension. In November 2010, Aires announced a $20M equity financing funded by ProQuest Investments and MPM Capital.

Company Contact:

Wendy Johnson, President & CEO

wjohnson@airespharma.com

San Diego, CA, November 11, 2010,  Aires Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that it has successfully completed a $20 million Series B equity financing, led by MPM Capital on behalf of the MPM Bio IV NVS Strategic Fund L.P. Additionally, Aires further bolstered its cash reserves by entering into an agreement with Novartis International Pharmaceutical Limited whereby Novartis has been granted an exclusive option to acquire Aires following the successful completion of a Phase 2 clinical study of Aironite™ to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. The agreement also includes a right to an exclusive worldwide license under pre-agreed conditions. Including the initial acquisition payment plus potential additional regulatory and sales milestone payments, the deal with Novartis could reach $250 million.

The Series B financing includes new investor MPM Capital and the existing investor, ProQuest Investments. Dr. William Greene, Managing Director of MPM Capital, will join Aires’ Board of Directors.

“ProQuest Investments created Aires and has been a dedicated backer of the company since inception.  We are pleased that MPM and ProQuest will support the company, and along with Novartis share our enthusiasm for the potential of Aironite™ to help patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension,” said Wendy Johnson, Founder, President and CEO of Aires. The current financing will be sufficient to complete the planned clinical development program.

William Greene, M.D., Managing Director at MPM Capital, said, “We at MPM are excited about the potential of Aironite to impact the lives of pulmonary arterial hypertension patients and look forward to working with Aires in developing this novel approach to a devastating disease.”

About Aironite ™
Aironite  is an inhaled nitric oxide prodrug that has been shown in animal models to cause vasodilatation as well as potentially prevent or reverse the pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension.  Significant preclinical development has been conducted by inventors Dr. Mark Gladwin and colleagues, formerly from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH.  In early clinical trials conducted by Aires, Aironite administration resulted in nitric oxide production and reduction of pulmonary artery pressure.

About MPM Capital
MPM Capital is one of the world’s largest life science-dedicated venture investors. With committed capital under management in excess of $2 billion, MPM Capital is uniquely structured to invest globally in healthcare innovation.

About ProQuest Investments
Founded in 1998, ProQuest Investments is a healthcare venture capital firm with over $875 million under management.  With a proven superior track record and over 40 investments the portfolio reflects the rich diversity of the healthcare industry and exemplifies commitment to fostering the growth of exceptional businesses.

About Aires Pharmaceuticals
Aires Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a privately held drug development company developing Aironite for cardiopulmonary indications such as pulmonary hypertension. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California.

COMPANY CONTACT:
Wendy Johnson
President & CEO
wjohnson@airespharma.com

San Diego, CA, October 21, 2008 — Aires Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug development company focused on developing therapies for pulmonary conditions, today announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement with the U.S. National Institutes of Health for the patented use of a nitric oxide prodrug to treat cardiopulmonary conditions.

The technology, identified at the NIH’s National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, shows that nitrite, which is converted by the body into nitric oxide, can be delivered as an effective treatment for pulmonary hypertension, myocardial infarction, transplantation and cerebral vasospasm. Aires Pharmaceuticals is developing Aironite™, a proprietary, inhalable formulation of nitrite, to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company has Orphan Drug Status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has completed its first Phase I clinical trial for this indication.

“We are pleased to have concluded this important agreement,” said Wendy Johnson, President and CEO of Aires Pharmaceuticals.  “We are aggressively gearing up to evaluate our product in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.”

Pulmonary hypertension is an under-diagnosed disease, with an estimated prevalence of 100,000 patients in the U.S.  Approximately 16,000 patients are currently being treated. It is characterized by narrowing of the arteries of the lung resulting in difficulty breathing during exertion.  Heart failure results as the condition worsens. While there is no cure for the disease, current treatments can extend the lives of patients five to seven years.  “Drug therapy has been shown to improve survival and PAH patient quality of life”  stated Dr. Lewis Rubin, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.  “Aironite holds great promise due to its unique mechanism of action, and pulmonary specific activity.”  Dr. Rubin serves as Aires’™ Chief Medical Officer.

Aironite is aerosolized nitrate in a sustained release formulation that delivers the drug to the areas of the lung and heart experiencing reduced oxygen and blood flow. Under these conditions, Aironite is converted to nitric oxide, a substance with several beneficial properties, including dilation of blood vessels and a reduction of inflammation and undesirable cell growth.

The research and technology for this treatment was identified in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Gladwin, formerly chief of the Pulmonary and Vascular Medicine Branch of the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, and colleagues from other U.S. universities. Dr. Gladwin is now at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he is the Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine and Director of the Hemostasis and Vascular Biology Research Institute.      

About Aires Pharmaceuticals
Aires Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately-held clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing therapies to treat pulmonary disorders. Founded in San Diego in December 2006 and funded by ProQuest Investments, the company has exclusive licenses to technology from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Cincinnati.

About ProQuest
ProQuest Investments is a life science venture capital fund located in Princeton, San Diego and Montreal.  Over the past ten years the company has made investments in over 50 companies, recognized over 20 exits and is deploying capital from its fourth fund.

Company Contact                                                                                                                                                           Wendy Johnson
858-366-9678
wjohnson@airespharma.com