BIOCRYST APPOINTS W. RANDALL PITTMAN CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

January 10, 2000
BIOCRYST APPOINTS W. RANDALL PITTMAN CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Birmingham, Alabama – January 10, 2000 – BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: BCRX), today announced the appointment of W. Randall Pittman as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Pittman joins BioCryst with 24 years of corporate finance, commercial banking, and public accounting experience.

"Randy has an excellent track record in all areas of management and he is an outstanding addition to BioCryst," said Charles E. Bugg, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioCryst. "He brings broad experience in financial management, strategic planning and investments."

In his position at BioCryst, Mr. Pittman will focus on all areas of the Company’s financial operations, accounting, human resources and information technology. He will also be an Executive officer of the Company and Assistant Secretary of the Corporation. The previous Chief Financial Officer, Ronald E. Gray, who has been with the Company for seven years, will continue with BioCryst as a consultant to assist in the transition.

Mr. Pittman joins BioCryst after serving as Chief Financial Officer of Scandipharm, Inc., an Alabama-based wholesale distributor of specialty pharmaceutical products that was recently purchased by Axcan Pharma, Inc. After starting his career at Ernst & Young, Mr. Pittman held various roles at AmSouth Bancorporation including Executive Vice President & Controller, and was Senior Vice President, Finance at MedPartners (now known as Caremark, Inc.).

Founded in 1986, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the development of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of infectious, T-cell mediated and cardiovascular diseases and disorders. BioCryst’s most advanced drug candidate, BCX-1812, is a neuraminidase inhibitor designed to treat and prevent viral influenza. The Company licensed this drug candidate to The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., both Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) companies.

This press release contains projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the Company. These statements are only predictions and the actual events or results may differ materially. Please refer to the documents BioCryst files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically BioCryst’s most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. These documents contain and identify important factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in the projections or forward-looking statements.