Anacor Pharmaceuticals Appoints Paul Cleveland to its Board of Directors and Chairman of its Audit Committee

Palo Alto, Calif. - October 1, 2007 - Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, today announced that it has appointed Paul Cleveland to its board of directors and as Chairman of its Audit Committee. Mr. Cleveland is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at Affymax (Nasdaq: AFFY), a position he has held since January 2006.

"Paul's understanding of healthcare and insight into today's complex financial transactions will be valuable to Anacor as we make the transition to a publicly held company and realize the value of our boron chemistry platform through partnerships," said David Perry, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased to welcome Paul to our Board of Directors and look forward to his contributions."

From May 2004 to December 2005, Cleveland served as a managing director at Integrated Finance, Ltd., an investment bank. From September 1996 to April 2003, he served as a managing director at J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. (and a predecessor firm, Hambrecht & Quist), an investment bank. From January 1993 to September 1996, he was a partner at Cooley Godward LLP, a law firm. From December 1988 to December 1992, he was a corporate attorney at Sidley Austin LLP, a law firm, and from September 1981 to November 1988, he was a corporate attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a law firm. Mr. Cleveland holds a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and an A.B. from Washington University in St. Louis.

About Anacor Pharmaceuticals
Anacor is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform. Anacor has focused initially on developing topical applications of its compounds to treat fungal, bacterial and inflammatory diseases. Anacor's most advanced product candidate is AN2690, a novel topical antifungal in development for the treatment of toenail onychomycosis, which is a fungal infection of the nail and nail bed. Anacor entered into a worldwide license, development and commercialization agreement for AN2690 with Schering-Plough for all indications including the treatment of onychomycosis. In addition, Anacor has a portfolio of other topical product candidates in development for the treatment of psoriasis, gingivitis, acne, vaginal candidiasis and tinea pedis.