MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG) today announced the appointment of Dr. Martin Godbout as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, effective immediately. Dr. Godbout has been a member of MethylGene's Board of Directors since 2002. MethylGene's Board now numbers seven.

Dr. Martin Godbout was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Genome Canada from April 2000 to October 2009, and was formerly the Senior Vice President of BioCapital and President and General Manager of Societe Innovatech Quebec.

Dr. Godbout was a member of the board of the "Conseil de la science et de la technologies du Quebec" from October 1996 to 2004 and has been an advisory member of several Canadian biopharmaceutical venture firms such as SGF Sante and Royal Bank Ventures Inc. He was also a Board Member of the Societe Innovatech du Grand Montreal.

In 2005, Dr. Godbout was named Officer of the Order of Canada. He was also awarded the Grand Prix Recherche from the Quebec Mental Illness Foundation for his previous work on Alzheimer's disease in 1991, as well as a "Prix Summa" in 1994 from the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering of the Universite Laval. In 1994, he also founded BioContact Quebec which has become one of the most important biopharmaceutical symposiums in North America.

He holds a BSc in Biochemistry and a PhD in Physiology and Molecular Endocrinology from Universite Laval, followed by a post-doctoral training in Neuromolecular Biology at The Scripps Research Institute, in San Diego.

About MethylGene

MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG) is a publicly-traded, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics with a focus on cancer. The Company's product candidates include: MGCD265, an oral, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor targeting the Met, VEGF, Ron and Tie-2 receptor tyrosine kinases that is in multiple clinical trials for cancer; MGCD290, a fungal Hos2 inhibitor for use in combination with fluconazole for serious fungal infections which has completed Phase I clinical studies; and mocetinostat (MGCD0103), an oral, isoform-selective HDAC inhibitor for cancer which has been in multiple Phase II clinical trials and is currently in a Phase II trial in refractory or relapsed follicular lymphoma. Mocetinostat is licensed to Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd in certain Asian countries. A fourth compound discovered using MethylGene's HDAC platform, EVP-0334 - a potential cognition enhancing agent for neurodegenerative diseases has successfully completed Phase I trials sponsored by EnVivo Pharmaceuticals Inc. MethylGene also has a funded collaboration with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for applications in ocular diseases using the Company's proprietary kinase inhibitor chemistry. Please visit our website at www.methylgene.com.