METHYLGENE ANNOUNCES ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

Montreal, Quebec, April 23, 2009 - MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG), will hold its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. EDT at the offices of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, 1501 McGill College Avenue, 26^th Floor, Montreal, Quebec. For those who are unable to attend in person, the corporate presentation given by Mr. Donald F. Corcoran, MethylGene's President and Chief Executive Officer, will be available by live webcast on the Company's website at www.methylgene.com.


WHAT: Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

WHERE: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, 1501 McGill College Avenue, 26th Floor, Montreal

WHEN: Friday, May 1^st, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. EDT


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 Co. Ltd. A fourth compound discovered using MethylGene’s HDAC platform, EVP-0334 - a potential cognition enhancing agent, is in a Phase I study sponsored by EnVivo Pharmaceuticals Inc. 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