SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) announced that chief executive officer George A. Scangos has executed a sale of 77,120 shares of Exelixis common stock directly to the company at a purchase price of $7.80 per share. The purpose of the sale was to repay a loan and advances extended by the company to Dr. Scangos in 1998, 2000 and 2001. The price was determined on the basis of the 20-day average trading price of Exelixis stock. The selling of these shares has no material impact on Dr. Scangos' ownership position in Exelixis' stock. Dr. Scangos also implemented a trading plan in 2003, executed in accordance with the provisions of "Rule 10b5-1" promulgated pursuant to SEC Release Nos. 33-7881, 34-43154, and under which he sells approximately 2,500 shares of Exelixis common stock per week for approximately one year. Proceeds from these sales are being used for personal financial portfolio management.

Exelixis, Inc. is a leading genomics-based drug discovery company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics. The company is leveraging its fully integrated gene-to-drug platform to fuel the growth of its proprietary drug pipeline. Exelixis' development pipeline includes: XL119 which is anticipated to enter a Phase 3 trial as a potential treatment for bile duct tumors; XL784, an anticancer compound currently in a Phase 1 safety study; XL647 and XL999, anticancer compounds that are potential IND candidates; and multiple compounds in preclinical development. Exelixis has established broad corporate alliances with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including SmithKlineBeecham Corporation and Bristol- Myers Squibb Company. The company has also established agricultural research collaborations with Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences and Renessen LLC. Other partners include Merck & Co., Inc., Schering-Plough Research Institute, Inc., Cytokinetics, Inc., Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Scios Inc. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.exelixis.com.

    NOTE:  Exelixis and the Exelixis logo are registered U.S. trademarks.

SOURCE  Exelixis, Inc.
    -0-                             10/09/2003
    /CONTACT:  Jane M. Green, Ph.D., VP, Corporate Communications of Exelixis,
Inc., +1-650-837-7579, or jmgreen@exelixis.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.exelixis.com /
    (EXEL)

CO:  Exelixis, Inc.
ST:  California
IN:  MTC HEA BIO
SU:



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5057 10/09/2003 19:48 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com