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EXHIBIT 10.56

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|------------------------- |  | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|(ESPERION LOGO)           |  | Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
3621 S. State St.
695 KMS Place
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
|                          |  |                                                                                
|Pathways to new medicines |  | Tel 734.332.0506
Fax 734.332.0516                                              

June 4, 2003

Dr. Adeoye Y. Olukotun, M.D., M.P.H, F.A.C.C.
66 Witherspoon St. #355
Princeton, NJ 08542

Dear Oye,

On behalf of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (the Company), we are pleased
to offer you a position with the Company. The following is an outline of the
terms of this offer:



|1. |  | The position offered is that of Senior Vice President of Clinical and
Regulatory and Chief Medical Officer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
|-- |  | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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|2. |  | You shall be paid an initial monthly salary of $25,000 (for an average 4
day per week commitment to Esperion) plus a bonus of up to 25% of base
salary. The bonus for the first year of employment will be pro-rated
based upon the portion of the year which you are employed by Esperion.
The right to receive a bonus for the first year of employment or portion
thereof is dependent on continued employment during that period. The
magnitude of the bonus, if any, will be determined, based upon an annual
performance review that will evaluate your achievement of a series of
mutually agreed upon performance objectives/milestones. A proposed series
of objectives/milestones will be developed among us.
|  
|3. |  | A benefits package will be provided to you, which is equivalent to that
offered to other similarly situated employees within the Company.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
|  
|4. |  | Subject to meeting eligibility requirements and the approval of the
Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors, we will grant you an
option to purchase up to 200,000 shares of the Companys common stock
under one of the Companys equity compensation plans. The options will
vest ratably over a period of two (2) years (1/8 per quarter), have a
strike price equal to the fair market value on the date of grant and must
be approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. The
terms and conditions of the option will be set forth in a Stock Option
Agreement that you will be required to execute.                                                                                





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|5. |  | After 6 months of continuous satisfactory employment with Esperion, in
the event that your employment with the Company is terminated by the
Company for reasons other than cause, you will be provided a severance
package of six (6) months of salary, with continuation of benefits during
this period, excluding the items noted in Section 7 below. In the event
that your employment with the Company is terminated due to death or
permanent and total disability (as such term may be defined by the
Companys insurer) the company will provide accelerated vesting such that
25% of your yet unvested stock options will immediately vest. If you
terminate your employment with the Company voluntarily or if your
employment is terminated by the Company for cause, you will forfeit the
severance package, as well as any of your unvested stock options. With
respect to any vested options, in the event that you voluntarily terminate
your employment with the Company, you will have 90 days to exercise these
options, or otherwise they will be forfeited.
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|6. |  | You will be asked to execute a standard confidentiality and assignment
agreement, as well as a standard non-compete agreement. You will be
expected to comply with the Companys insider trading policy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
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|7. |  | Esperion will provide you certain relocation and commuting benefits.
During the first twelve (12) months of your employment with Esperion, and
renewable annually by mutual agreement thereafter, we will cover all of
your reasonable costs (including imputed taxes) of commuting to/from
Esperion. We will provide you an initial commuting allowance of $75,000,
paid $18,750 at the beginning of each quarter after the start of your
employment with Esperion, and to be used by you for weekly travel to/from
Esperion, a furnished apartment in Ann Arbor, a leased automobile in Ann
Arbor, automobile insurance, airport parking, gasoline, and related
commuting incidentals. The commuting allowance amount will be reviewed at
regular quarterly intervals and by mutual agreement can be modified.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

If the terms of this offer are acceptable to you, please so indicate by
executing in the space provided below and fax to 734-995-1814, as well as mail
(an original copy) to the Company. Please respond to this offer within two
weeks from the date hereof.

Welcome to Esperion Therapeutics! We look forward to working with you to
bring new medicines to a world of unmet medical needs.

Sincerely,

|                                                                         |  |                                                                         
|------------------------------------------------------------------------ |  | ------------------------------------------------------------------------
|/s/ Roger S. NewtonRoger S. Newton
President and Chief Executive Officer |  | /s/ Timothy M. MaylebenTimothy M. Mayleben
Chief Operating Officer & CFO

AGREED AND ACCEPTED:

|                             |  |                          |      |        |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|---------------------------- |  | ------------------------ | ---- | ------ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|/s/
Adeoye Y. Olukotun, M.D. |  |                          |      | 6/4/03 |  |  |  |  | 
|                             |  |                          |      |       
|1                            |  | ADEOYE Y. OLUKOTUN, M.D. | DATE |        |  |  | 

CC: S. Landauer