2008-08-28 14:06:06 -

www.optimerpharma.com - Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTR) announced today that the Company is scheduled to present on Thursday, September 4, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. ET at the NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry Conference at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York, NY.

A live audio webcast of this presentation will be available on the Company's

website at www.optimerpharma.com, on the investors page. Replays of this presentation will be available for thirty days after the meeting.

About Optimer Pharmaceuticals

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative anti-infective products for the treatment of serious infections. Optimer has two late-stage anti-infective product candidates. OPT-80 is being developed for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection, the most common hospital-acquired diarrhea. Prulifloxacin is an antibiotic being developed for the treatment of travelers' diarrhea, a form of infectious diarrhea. Additional information can be found at www.optimerpharma.com.

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Christina Donaghy, Corporate Communications Manager
John D. Prunty, Chief Financial Officer & VP Finance
858-909-0736
or
Porter Novelli Life Sciences
Jason I. Spark, Vice President
619-849-6005