-Pamela A. Simonton Promoted to Executive Vice President and General Counsel- -Gisela M. Schwab Promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer-

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan 04, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) today announced promotions for two members of its senior management team. Pamela A. Simonton, Senior Vice President of Patents and Licensing, has been promoted to Executive Vice President and General Counsel and Dr. Gisela M. Schwab, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer.

"I am happy to promote both Pamela and Gisela. Both have played key roles in Exelixis' accomplishments, and both promotions are well-deserved. Pamela will now have responsibility for all corporate legal matters and legal services in support of Exelixis' business and corporate objectives," said George Scangos, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Exelixis. "Pamela has been responsible for all of the patent and licensing activity since her arrival in 2000 and has played a major role in our partnering activities as well. Dr. Schwab will continue to lead the Development Organization as we plan to move 3 compounds into pivotal trials in the first half of 2008."

Ms. Simonton has served as Senior Vice President, Patents and Licensing, since January 2004. Previously, she served as Vice President of Corporate Technology Development from April 2000 through December 2003. From July 1996 to April 2000, she served as Vice President, Licensing and Acquisitions for Bayer Corporation's Pharmaceutical Division. From September 1994 to July 1996, Ms. Simonton served as Vice President of Patents and Licensing for Bayer's Pharmaceutical Division, North America. Ms. Simonton holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Barry College, an M.S. in Physics from the University of Miami, a J.D. from Nova University and an LL.M in Patent and Trade Regulation from George Washington University.

Dr. Schwab joined Exelixis in 2006 as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Since her arrival she has played a major role in the expansion of the number of later stage clinical trials and the growth and integration of the Clinical Development group within the entire R&D organization. Prior to joining Exelixis, Dr. Schwab served as senior vice president and chief medical officer at Abgenix, Inc., a human antibody-based drug development company that was acquired by Amgen, Inc. in April 2006. Prior to working at Abgenix, Dr. Schwab held various roles of increasing responsibility at Amgen Inc., most recently as therapeutic area leader for the clinical development of Amgen's hematology and oncology pipeline. Dr. Schwab received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Heidelberg, trained at the National Cancer Institute and is board certified in internal medicine and hematology and oncology.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc. is a development-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. The company is leveraging its fully integrated drug discovery platform to fuel the growth of its development pipeline, which is primarily focused on cancer. Currently, Exelixis' broad product pipeline includes investigational compounds in phase 2 and phase 1 clinical development for cancer and renal disease. Exelixis has established strategic corporate alliances with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including GSK, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Daiichi-Sankyo. For more information, please visit the company's web site at http://www.exelixis.com.

Exelixis Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements related to the timing of the initiation of pivotal trials for certain Exelixis compounds. Words such as "will," "plan" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon our current plans, assumptions, beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the potential failure of our product candidates to demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical testing; the ability to initiate and complete trials at the referenced times; the ability to conduct clinical trials sufficient to achieve a positive completion; the uncertainty of the FDA approval process; the therapeutic and commercial value of our compounds and risks related to our need for additional financing. These and other risk factors are discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any duty, obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

SOURCE Exelixis, Inc.

http://www.exelixis.com