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Anesiva New Hires Further Strengthen Internal Expertise

Pain Management Expertise Bolstered by Hiring of Three Pain-Focused M.D.s in Past 12 Months

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 23, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Anesiva, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSV) announced today two new additions to its management team: Yvonne Richardson, vice president of manufacturing and Shaun Comfort, M.D., director of clinical research.

"We are pleased to welcome Yvonne and Shaun to Anesiva as we aggressively pursue the development of Zingo and 4975 for various types of pain management. Yvonne joins us from Bayer Healthcare, and Shaun, who previously served in the pain division of the FDA, joins us from Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development," said John P. McLaughlin, chief executive officer of Anesiva. "They join recent hires, Peony Yu, M.D. and Michael Leong M.D., who both have strong backgrounds in clinical trial management and in the first-hand management of pain in medical practice."

Yvonne Richardson brings more than 20 years of management experience in manufacturing, quality assurance and product development to Anesiva. Most recently, reporting to the president of the Hematology Cardiology business unit at Bayer Healthcare, Ms. Richardson was responsible for the Project Management Office and all strategic projects for the hematology business. Before Bayer, Ms. Richardson implemented efficient production systems at manufacturing facilities at Hospira, Inc. and Abbott Laboratories. She also was in charge of global development teams for the Renal Division of Baxter Healthcare. Ms. Richardson earned her BA in Chemistry and Philosophy at Knox College and MBA from Lewis University, both in Illinois.

Shaun Comfort, M.D. comes to Anesiva from Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, where he was associate director CNS/Analgesics R&D; since 2005. Before Johnson & Johnson, he served as medical officer of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Division of Therapeutic Biologic Internal Medicine Products, and the Division of Anesthetics, Critical Care, and Addiction Drug Products, reviewing clinical studies in conditions requiring analgesic or anesthetic treatments for acute, chronic, and neuropathic pain conditions. Dr. Comfort is a Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He earned a BA in Physics from the State University of New York, completed his MD and residency in Neurology at the University of New Mexico, and received an MBA from Regis University in Denver.

About Anesiva and its Diverse Pipeline of Pain Products

Anesiva, Inc. is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company that seeks to be the leader in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic treatments for pain. The company has two drug candidates in development for multiple pain-related indications. A New Drug Application (NDA) has been filed for the most advanced product, Zingo(TM). The second product in the pipeline, 4975, has been shown to reduce pain after only a single administration for weeks to months in multiple settings in numerous mid-stage clinical trials for site-specific, moderate-to-severe pain. Anesiva is based in South San Francisco, CA. For more information about Anesiva's leadership in the development of products for pain management, and an overview of the clinical challenges being addressed by its product candidates, go to http://www.anesiva.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include matters that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied by this press release. Such risk factors include, among others: whether Anesiva can successfully develop new products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in Anesiva's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006.

Anesiva undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

    Contact:  Jennifer Cook Williams
              Vice President, Investor Relations
              650-624-9600
              [email protected]

SOURCE Anesiva, Inc.

Jennifer Cook Williams, Vice President, Investor Relations, of Anesiva, Inc.,
+1-650-624-9600, [email protected]

http://www.anesiva.com

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