SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) announced today that Michael Morrissey, Ph.D., senior vice president of discovery, will present at the Banc of America Securities 2005 Healthcare Conference at 11:20 a.m. (Pacific Time) on Thursday, May 19, 2005.

The presentation will be webcast and may be accessed in the Events page under Investor Information on the Exelixis website at www.exelixis.com.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc. is a leading genomics-based drug discovery company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics across various disease areas. The company is leveraging its fully integrated gene-to-drug platform to fuel the growth of its proprietary drug pipeline. Exelixis' development pipeline covers cancer and metabolism and is comprised of the following compounds: XL119 (becatecarin), for which a multinational Phase III clinical trial has been initiated in patients with bile duct tumors; XL784, initially an anticancer compound, which completed a Phase I clinical trial and is being developed as a treatment for renal disease; XL647, XL999 and XL880, anticancer compounds currently in Phase I clinical trials; XL820 and XL844 anticancer compounds for which investigational new drug (IND) applications have been filed; and XL184, a potential IND candidate for the treatment of cancer; and multiple compounds in preclinical development for diseases including cancer and various metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Exelixis has established broad corporate alliances with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Pursuant to a product development and commercialization agreement between Exelixis and GSK, GSK has the option, after completion of Phase IIa clinical trials, to elect to develop a certain number of compounds in Exelixis' product pipeline, which may include the cancer compounds identified in this press release (other than XL119), thus potentially triggering milestone payments and royalties from GSK and co-promotion rights by Exelixis. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.exelixis.com.

SOURCE  Exelixis, Inc.
    -0-                             05/11/2005
    /CONTACT:  Charles Butler, Associate Director, Corporate Communications of
Exelixis, Inc., +1-650-837-7277, or cbutler@exelixis.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.exelixis.com /
    (EXEL)

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

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9901 05/11/2005 16:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com