ViroPharma To Host Investor Day

EXTON, Pa., March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ViroPharma Incorporated (Nasdaq: VPHM) announced today that the company will provide a live audio webcast of its investor day event, focusing on Cinryze growth opportunities on Friday, March 19, 2010.  Lectures will be provided by a number of ViroPharma representatives.

The investor day, entitled "Cinryze: Expanding the Global Opportunity," will be held from 9:00 A.M. until NOON Eastern Time on Friday, March 19, 2010.  Among the topics ViroPharma will discuss are plans for furthering Cinryze growth in the U.S. HAE prophylaxis market, regulatory timelines and pre-launch planning for Cinryze in the European Union, global expansion opportunities beyond U.S. and E.U. and initial development plans for potential therapeutic uses and modes of administration.

"We are thrilled to be in position to not only provide continued growth with Cinryze here in the United States for HAE, but also moving ahead on various opportunities to grow the product both in HAE worldwide and in other conditions as well," commented Vin Milano, ViroPharma's president and chief executive officer. "We look forward to this event and sharing our plans with investors as they can begin to envision both the short and long term milestones in the path forward for our C1-INH platform."

A live webcast of the meeting may be accessed via the investor section of the ViroPharma corporate website, http://www.viropharma.com. The archive of the meeting will be available through April 16, 2010.

About Cinryze C1 Inhibitor (human)

Cinryze is a highly purified, pasteurized and nanofiltered plasma-derived C1 inhibitor product that has been approved by FDA for routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in adolescent and adult patients with HAE.  C1 inhibitor therapy has been used acutely for more than 30 years in Europe to treat patients with C1 inhibitor deficiency.  Cinryze has not been approved for acute treatment in the United States or any other jurisdiction.

Cinryze has been well tolerated. The most common adverse reactions observed have been upper respiratory infection, sinusitis, rash and headache. No drug-related serious adverse events (SAEs) have been observed in clinical trials. Severe hypersensitivity reactions may occur. Thrombotic events have occurred in patients receiving high dose off-label C1 inhibitor therapy well above the approved treatment dosage regimen. With any blood or plasma derived product, there may be a risk of transmission of infectious agents, e.g. viruses and, theoretically, the CJD agent. The risk has been reduced by screening patients for prior exposure to certain virus infections and by manufacturing steps to reduce the risk of viral transmission including pasteurization and nanofiltration.

Cinryze is for intravenous use only.  A dose of 1000 Units Cinryze can be administered every 3 or 4 days for routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in HAE patients.  Cinryze is administered at an injection rate of 1 mL per minute.

About ViroPharma Incorporated

ViroPharma Incorporated is an international biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing innovative products for physician specialists to enable the support of patients with serious diseases for which there is an unmet medical need, and providing rewarding careers to employees.  ViroPharma commercializes Cinryze® (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) for routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in adolescent and adult patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE).  ViroPharma commercializes Vancocin®, approved for oral administration for treatment of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis caused by Clostridium difficile and enterocolitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant strains (for prescribing information on ViroPharma's commercial products, please download the package inserts at http://www.viropharma.com/Products.aspx).  ViroPharma currently focuses its drug development activities in diseases including C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency and C. difficile.

ViroPharma routinely posts information, including press releases, which may be important to investors in the investor relations and media sections of our company's web site, www.viropharma.com. The company encourages investors to consult these sections for more information on ViroPharma and our business.

SOURCE ViroPharma Incorporated