BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) today announced that its President and Chief Scientific Officer, Kevin Koch, Ph.D., will present preclinical and early clinical data on the MEK inhibitor, ARRY-438162, at the 14th International Inflammation Research Association (IRA) Conference on October 19 in Cambridge, Maryland.

    Event:               14th International IRA Conference
    Presenter:           Kevin Koch, Ph.D, President and Chief Scientific
                         Officer
    Title:               ARRY-438162, a Selective, Potent Inhibitor of MEK 1 /
                         2 in Clinical Development for the Treatment of
                         Inflammatory Disease
    Date:                Thursday, October 19, 2006
    Time:                8:15 am Eastern Time
    Location:            Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Cambridge, Maryland

    Additionally, Array will have two other presentations on Wednesday,
October 18, 2006:

    Presenter:           Laurence E. Burgess, Ph.D., Senior Director,
                         Medicinal Chemistry and Lead Optimization
    Title:               The De Novo Design and Discovery of p38 Inhibitors
    Time:                11:00 am Eastern Time

    Presenter:           Patrice Lee, Ph.D., Director, Pharmacology and
                         Toxicology
    Title:               Effects of a p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitor in an Animal
                         Model of Pulmonary Inflammation via Intratracheal
                         (IT) or Inhaled Delivery
    Time:                4:20 pm Eastern Time

To register for the conference, please go to www.inflammationresearch.org. To view a PDF of the complete conference program, please go to www.arraybiopharma.com.

About Inflammatory Disease

Inflammation is a natural biologic response to injury or infectious attack to the human body. Unregulated inflammation results in a broad range of conditions, most of which are classified by the tissue or organ where the inflammation occurs. These conditions include rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the joint, psoriasis in the skin, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the lung, fibrotic disease in the liver and kidney, Crohn's disease in the intestine, congestive hear failure and arteriosclerosis in the arteries, among others. Currently, some of the most effective treatments for these diseases are injectable protein therapeutics, which have significant cost and patient compliance issues. IV-dosed protein therapeutics currently on the market -- such as Enbrel(R), Remicade(R), Humira(R) and Kineret (R) -- bind to and/or modulate the activity of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha or IL-1 and are utilized for the treatment of RA, psoriasis and Crohn's disease. The TNF inhibition market alone, which is dominated by these therapeutics, is expected to grow from $9 billion in 2005 to $17 billion in 2010, according to analyst estimates.

About ARRY-438162 / MEK for Inflammation

MEK is an enzyme that regulates the biosynthesis of the inflammatory cytokines TNF, IL-6 and IL-1. Array scientists have discovered potent MEK inhibitors that interfere with these biosynthetic processes. We have previously advanced one MEK inhibitor, ARRY-886, into clinical development for the treatment of cancer. Given our experience with the safety profile of MEK inhibitors, we believe inhibition of MEK will have broad applications in diseases driven by IL-1 and TNF. ARRY-438162, an orally active MEK inhibitor, has shown significant efficacy and is well tolerated in preclinical models of human arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. We initiated Phase 1 clinical testing in normal, healthy volunteers in April 2006.

About ARRY-797 / p38 for Inflammation and Cancer

p38 is an enzyme that regulates the production of numerous pro-inflammatory cytokines, in particular, TNF, IL-6 and IL-1. Additionally, several cancers have show up-regulation of TNF and IL-6, including prostate, ovarian and multiple myeloma; p38 may be involved as part of a resistance mechanism. ARRY-797, an orally active p38 inhibitor, has demonstrated significant efficacy and is well tolerated in preclinical models of human arthritis and certain cytokine-driven cancers. We plan to file an IND application with the FDA by the end of 2006.

About Array BioPharma:

Array BioPharma Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule drugs to treat life threatening and debilitating diseases. Our proprietary drug development pipeline is focused on the treatment of cancer and inflammatory disease and includes clinical candidates that are designed to regulate therapeutically important targets. In addition, leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies collaborate with Array to discover and develop drug candidates across a broad range of therapeutic areas. For more information on Array, please go to www.arraybiopharma.com.

SOURCE Array BioPharma Inc.