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MethylGene Inc.: MethylGene Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Results Conference Call Notice

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 24, 2009) - MethylGene Inc. (TSX:MYG) will release its results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2008 prior to market open on Monday, March 30, 2009 and will host a conference call and audio webcast on the same day at 11:00 am ET. MethylGene would like to invite all interested parties to participate by dialing 416-644-3416 or 1-800-732-6179.

Representing MethylGene on the call will be:

Donald F. Corcoran, President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Jeffrey M. Besterman, Executive Vice President, Research and
Development and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Robert E. Martell, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Klaus Kepper, Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer

A question and answer session will follow formal remarks, at which time the operator will direct participants as to the correct procedure for submitting questions. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at [ www.methylgene.com ].

A telephone replay of the conference call will also be available from March 30 through April 6, 2009. To access the replay, dial 416-640-1917 or 1-877-289-8525 and enter the reservation number 21300881#.

About MethylGene

MethylGene Inc. (TSX:MYG) is a publicly-traded, clinical stage, biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for cancer. The Company's product candidates include: MGCD265, an oral, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor targeting the c-Met, VEGF, Tie-2 and Ron receptor tyrosine kinases that is in Phase I clinical trials for solid tumor cancers; MGCD290, a fungal Hos2 (HDAC) inhibitor being developed for use in combination with fluconazole for serious fungal infections that is also in Phase I clinical studies; and MGCD0103, an oral, isoform-selective HDAC inhibitor which has been in multiple clinical trials for solid tumors and hematological malignancies and is licensed to Taiho Pharmaceutical. A fourth compound discovered using MethylGene's HDAC platform, EVP-0334 - a potential cognitive enhancing agent, is in a Phase I study sponsored by EnVivo Pharmaceuticals. MethylGene also has a funded collaboration with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for applications in ocular diseases using the Company's proprietary kinase inhibitor chemistry. Please visit our website at [ www.methylgene.com ].

Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management of MethylGene, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond MethylGene's control. These risks and uncertainties could cause future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such results, performance or achievements include, but are not limited to, the timing and effects of regulatory action; the continuation of collaborations; the results of clinical trials; the timing of enrollment or completion of clinical trials; the success, efficacy or safety of MGCD0103, MGCD265 or MGCD290; the ability to scale up, formulate and manufacture sufficient GMP, clinical or commercialization quantities of MGCD0103, MGCD265 or MGCD290, and the relative success or the lack of success in developing and gaining regulatory approval and/or market acceptance for any compound or new product including MGCD0103, MGCD265 or MGCD290. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, economic conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which MethylGene does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, expectations with respect to our intellectual property position and our ability to protect our intellectual property and operate our business without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others, changes in the competitive landscape including changes in the standard of care for the various indications in which MethylGene is involved, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, as well as other risks, which you are urged to read, as described in MethylGene's Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007, under the heading 'risk factors and all other documents filed by the Company that can be found at [ www.sedar.com ]. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements included in this presentation. These statements speak only as an update on the date they are made and MethylGene is under no obligation to revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstance or otherwise except in accordance with law.