ANACOR CO-FOUNDERS RECOGNIZED FOR SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Palo Alto, Calif. - June 10, 2009 - Anacor Pharmaceuticals today congratulates its co-founders and board members, Stephen Benkovic and Lucy Shapiro, as the recipients of two of the most prestigious awards given in science. The awards recognize their groundbreaking achievements in advancing medical research.

Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences:

• Stephen Benkovic, Ph.D., Evan Pugh Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at the Pennsylvania State University

Gairdner International Award:

• Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D., Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research and Director of the Beckman Center in the School of Medicine at Stanford University

"Steve and Lucy founded Anacor on the basis of their research showing that boron containing small molecules had the potential to be important new antibiotics. With their continued scientific contributions and guidance, we've expanded the applications of boron chemistry and introduced five internally developed, boron containing molecules into clinical trials," said David Perry, Chief Executive Officer of Anacor Pharmaceuticals. "Their contributions to Anacor have been invaluable. On behalf of all of the employees of Anacor, I offer our sincere congratulations to both of them."

Stephen Benkovic, Ph.D., is the Evan Pugh Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Benkovic has received a number of awards and fellowships including the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, NIH Career Development Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, Gowland Hopkins Award, Alfred Bader Award, Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists and Repligen Award for Chemistry of Biological Processes. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Science, the Institute of Medicine and the American Philosophical Society. He received a B.S. and an A.B. from Lehigh University, and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Cornell University.

Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D., is the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research and Director of the Beckman Center in the School of Medicine at Stanford University. Dr. Shapiro is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences for her work in the fields of molecular biology and microbiology. She was elected to the American Philosophical Society and received the Selman Waksman Award from the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She was a non-executive director of GlaxoSmithKline from 2001 to 2006 and is on the board of Gen-Probe, Incorporated. She received a B.S. from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences
The Franklin Institute Awards are among the oldest and most prestigious comprehensive science awards in the world. The Franklin Institute Awards identify individuals whose great innovation has benefited humanity, advanced science, launched new fields of inquiry, and deepened our understanding of the universe.

Gairdner International Award
Considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in biomedical science, the prize is given by the Toronto-based Gairdner Foundation to honor individuals who have made outstanding and original contributions to medical research.

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. In addition, the Company is developing systemic antiviral and antibacterial therapeutics under a research and development agreement with GlaxoSmithKline. 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. AN2690 is licensed to Schering-Plough Corporation under a worldwide development and commercialization agreement for all indications including the treatment of onychomycosis. For more information www.anacor.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that relate to future events and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual levels of activity, performance or achievement to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the views of Anacor as of the date of this press release with respect to future events and, except as required by law, it undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release.

Contact:
Anne Bowdidge
Investor Relations
650-543-7575