SAN DIEGO, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Discovery Partners International, Inc. (Nasdaq: DPII) and Seikagaku Corporation (Seikagaku) announced today that the lead finding collaboration announced in 2003 has resulted in a success milestone payment to DPI. Seikagaku has advanced a compound identified by DPI in the collaboration to the next stage of development. The actual figure of the success payment and the therapeutic focus of the collaboration were not disclosed.

"We are very excited that our lead finding collaboration with Seikagaku has resulted in the accomplishment of the milestone," stated Michael C. Venuti, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Discovery Partners. "This serves as a strong validation of our integrated drug discovery platform, as well as our commitment to building long-term and value-added relationships with our pharmaceutical partners. Our collaboration model complements the needs of our partners to support any or all phases of the drug discovery process and to help a partner advance its programs."

About Discovery Partners International, Inc.

Discovery Partners International, Inc. (DPI) is a technology-driven drug discovery company, offering collaborations and services complementing the internal capabilities of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. DPI has the platform, the process, and the people, to carry out drug discovery from target to optimized leads. DPI has actively contributed to dozens of drug discovery collaborations. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California and has operations in the United States and Europe.

About Seikagaku Corporation

Seikagaku Corporation is a pioneer and leader in the field of glycoscience and glycoconjugate-related therapeutics, producing unique products in this field since its foundation in 1947. Sodium Hyaluronate injection (proprietary name: Supartz(R), Artz(R) or Artzal(R)) was developed based on the company concept focusing on the glycoconjugates, is the first specialty for osteoarthritis and now on the market in 19 countries, including major European countries and the USA. Seikagaku Corporation has no direct sales force, instead, it traditionally devotes to R&D activities, with 1/3 of the total employee and expenses approximately 20% of the total revenue.

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty. These include statements related to the collaboration's ability to utilize Discovery Partners' services, products and systems to identify potential lead compounds for Seikagaku. Discovery Partners' actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements due to risks and uncertainties that exist in their operations, collaborative relationships (including the collaboration with Seikagaku), development efforts and business environment, including risks and uncertainties more fully described in Discovery Partners' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Discovery Partners' other SEC reports.

SOURCE  Discovery Partners International, Inc.
    -0-                             11/09/2005
    /CONTACT:  Riccardo Pigliucci, Chief Executive Officer,
ir@discoverypartners.com, or Craig Kussman, Chief Financial Officer, both of
Discovery Partners International, Inc., +1-858-228-4113/
    /Web site:  http://www.discoverypartners.com /
    (DPII)

CO:  Discovery Partners International, Inc.; Seikagaku Corporation
ST:  California
IN:  HEA MTC
SU:

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0374 11/09/2005 09:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com