The strategic alliance between Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISIS), and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) has been honored with the Breakthrough Alliance Award of 2002. The award, sponsored by Recombinant Capital and International Biomedicine Partners, was presented at the Allicense 2002 Conference in San Francisco this week. Annually, the Allicense Conference nominates five biotech-pharmaceutical alliances as the breakthrough deals of the previous year. The award is bestowed upon the alliance that receives the most votes by biotech and pharmaceutical business development and licensing executives.

"We are pleased to have received this recognition from our peers in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. Lilly is an ideal partner for Isis and this alliance has been a transforming event for the company and for the company's antisense technology," said B. Lynne Parshall, Isis' executive vice president. "This collaboration is in effect three major deals, anchored by a significant equity investment: a late-stage product license, an antisense research collaboration and a GeneTrove functional genomics relationship, with each deal setting a new record for Isis and antisense in terms of deal scope and size."

"We are delighted to be recognized for the strategic antisense alliance with our partner, Isis," said David E. Thompson, vice president of corporate strategy and business development for Lilly. "This collaboration is an excellent example of what we strive for in order to meet the needs of both partners. We also intend to leverage our pioneering initiatives in alliance management to deliver the most value to this partnership."

Isis and Lilly announced their antisense drug discovery and development partnership in August 2001. The alliance includes the license of Isis' novel antisense cancer compound, LY900003 (formerly ISIS 3521) and the formation of a broad, four-year collaboration to discover new antisense drugs for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. The companies will also use the Isis GeneTrove™ antisense technology as a tool to rapidly determine the functional role of up to 1,000 human genes in disease.

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is exploiting its expertise in RNA to discover and develop novel human therapeutic drugs. The company has commercialized its first product, Vitravene® (fomivirsen), to treat CMV-induced retinitis in AIDS patients. In addition, Isis has 13 products in its development pipeline with two in late-stage development and six in Phase II human clinical trials. LY900003 (ISIS 3521), an inhibitor of PKC-alpha, is in Phase III trials for non-small cell lung cancer and alicaforsen (ISIS 2302), an ICAM-1 inhibitor, is in Phase III human clinical trials for Crohn's disease. Isis has a broad patent estate as the owner or exclusive licensee of more than 900 issued patents worldwide. Isis' GeneTrove™ division uses antisense to assist pharmaceutical industry partners in validating and prioritizing potential gene targets through customized services. Ibis Therapeutics™ is a division focused on the discovery of small molecule drugs that bind to RNA. Additional information about Isis is available at www.isispharm.com.

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the potential of Isis Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Company's strategic alliance. Any statement describing a goal, expectation, intention or belief of the companies is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, particularly those inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics and financing such activities. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in this release. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning the companies' research and development programs are described in additional detail in the companies' Annual Reports on Form 10K, for the period ended December 31, 2001, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available from the companies.

Vitravene® is a trademark of Novartis AG.
GeneTrove™ and Ibis Therapeutics™ are trademarks of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.