William S. Reardon, Former PricewaterhouseCoopers Partner, Joins Genome Therapeutics' Board...

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 2003

Genome Therapeutics (Nasdaq: GENE) has appointed William S. Reardon to the Board of Directors. Mr. Reardon brings nearly 30 years of experience in finance, accounting and securities regulation,

"Bill will be a strong addition to our Board of Directors. We will benefit from the expertise he has developed while providing strategic counsel and advanced financial analysis to PWC's biotechnology client base," stated Steven M. Rauscher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Genome Therapeutics. "We expect Bill's leadership and extensive network in the biotechnology industry to be important assets as we build our pipeline of drug candidates and product-focused biopharmaceutical alliances."

Now retired, Mr. Reardon, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a certified public accountant (CPA), was Partner at PWC where he led the Life Science Industry Practice for New England and the Eastern United States. His responsibilities at PWC included supervising teams conducting client audits and serving as a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Consulting Partner, which required him to work closely with SEC staff. Throughout his career, Mr. Reardon has been a highly visible member of the life sciences community, a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and an active member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC).

"Like many of my former clients, Genome Therapeutics is an innovative biopharmaceutical company with exciting prospects, including an advanced clinical candidate and several strategic pharmaceutical alliances," stated Mr. Reardon. "I hope that my service on the Board of Directors can facilitate the Company's continued growth and future success."

About Genome Therapeutics

Genome Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of pharmaceutical and diagnostics products. The Company's lead product candidate, Ramoplanin, is currently under Phase III investigation for the prevention of bloodstream infections caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and under Phase II investigation for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Genome Therapeutics' biopharmaceutical business includes a robust internal drug discovery program in the area of anti-infectives, and seven major product discovery alliances with several pharmaceutical companies including Amgen, AstraZeneca, bioMerieux, Schering-Plough and Wyeth.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements represent our management's judgment regarding future events. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "plan," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. We do not plan to update these forward- looking statements. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements due to a number of risks affecting our business. These risk factors include risks related to our lead product candidate, Ramoplanin, such as (i) our inability to obtain regulatory approval to commercialize Ramoplanin due to negative, inconclusive or insufficient clinical data and (ii) delays in the progress of our clinical trials for Ramoplanin, and increased cost, due to the pace of enrollment of patients in the trials or fluctuations in the infection rate of enrolled patients. We are also subject to risks related to our inability or the inability of our alliance partners to (i) successfully develop products based on our genomics information, (ii) obtain the necessary regulatory approval for such products, (iii) effectively commercialize any products developed before our competitors are able to commercialize competing products or (iv) obtain and enforce intellectual property rights. In addition, we are subject to the risk factors set forth in Exhibit 99.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 and those set forth in other filings that we may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.