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KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals Appoints Amgen Veteran As Chief Financial Officer

November 29, 2007

LOS ANGELES, November 29, 2007 – Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Kythera") announced today the appointment of John W. Smither as Chief Financial Officer. Smither will be responsible for all financial and administrative aspects of the company including financing, business planning and budgeting, tax and accounting and treasury.

Smither brings to Kythera more than 30 years of experience in finance and accounting. Most recently, he spent more than 9 years at Amgen, Inc. where he advanced rapidly through financial management positions for business units and subsidiaries based in Europe and the US. During his term as Chief Financial Officer of Amgen Europe, Smither directed financial planning, accounting, cost accounting, treasury, cash management and financial reporting under U.S. GAAP in 25 European countries. Other roles at Amgen included Head of Internal Audit and Executive Director of Corporate Accounting at Amgen where he was responsible for accounting operations including the selection and implementation planning of SAP’s business enterprise software. Prior to Amgen, Smither was an audit partner at Ernst & Young in Los Angeles, the Chief Financial Officer of several early stage industrial companies and a former member of the Board of Directors of Dompe Biotec S.p.A.

Smither holds a BS in Accounting from California State University at Los Angeles. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA) and Financial Executives International (FEI).

“As Kythera moves to its next round of funding and prepares for access to public markets, we are fortunate to have someone of John’s caliber and financial prowess to lead the effort,” said Keith Leonard, Kythera’s CEO. “He joins the company at a pivotal time, and I am extremely pleased to have him on board.”

Kythera is conducting multiple trials in the US, UK, and Australia on its lead product ATX-101 and is nearing completion of a trial in France on ATX-201.