ARIAD Announces Lawsuit Relating to NF-(kappa)B Patent.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) today announced that Amgen, Inc. and certain affiliated entities have filed an action in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware seeking a declaratory judgment that each of the claims contained in U.S. Patent No. 6,410,516 (the "'516 Patent") covering methods of treating human disease by regulating NF-(kappa)B cell-signaling activity are invalid and that Amgen and its affiliated entities have not infringed any claims of the '516 Patent based on activities related to the products, Enbrel(R) and Kineret(R).

Four of the claims of the '516 Patent are the subject of an ongoing trial which commenced on April 10, 2006 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by ARIAD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, as co-plaintiffs, against Eli Lilly and Company alleging infringement by Lilly of such '516 patent claims through sales of Lilly's osteoporosis drug, Evista(R), and Lilly's septic shock drug, Xigris(R).

ARIAD believes there is no basis for the declaratory relief sought by Amgen and intends to vigorously contest Amgen's claims as without merit.

About ARIAD

ARIAD is engaged in the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines to treat cancer by regulating cell signaling with small molecules. The company is developing a comprehensive approach to patients with cancer that addresses the greatest medical need - aggressive and advanced-stage cancers for which current treatments are inadequate. Medinol Ltd. also is developing stents and other medical devices that deliver ARIAD's lead cancer product candidate to prevent reblockage at sites of vascular injury following stent-assisted angioplasty. ARIAD has an exclusive license to pioneering technology and patents related to certain NF-(kappa)B treatment methods, and the discovery and development of drugs to regulate NF-(kappa)B cell-signaling activity, which may be useful in treating certain diseases. Additional information about ARIAD can be found on the web at http://www.ariad.com.

Some of the matters discussed herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Such statements, including our belief that the Amgen action described in this release is without merit, are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcome of events, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding our ability to accurately estimate the timing and actual R&D expenses and other costs associated with the preclinical and clinical development and manufacture of our product candidates, the adequacy of our capital resources and the availability of additional funding, risks and uncertainties regarding our ability to manufacture or have manufactured our product candidates on a commercial scale, risks and uncertainties regarding our ability to successfully enroll and conduct clinical studies of product candidates, risks and uncertainties that clinical trial results at any phase of development may be adverse or may not be predictive of future results or lead to regulatory approval of any of our or any partner's product candidates, risks and uncertainties of third-party intellectual property claims relating to our and any partner's product candidates, and risks and uncertainties relating to regulatory oversight, the timing, scope, cost and outcome of legal proceedings, including litigation concerning our NF-eB patent portfolio, future capital needs, key employees, dependence on collaborators and manufacturers, markets, economic conditions, products, services, prices, reimbursement rates, competition and other factors detailed in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including ARIAD's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. The information contained in this document is believed to be current as of the date of original issue. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in the Company's expectations, except as required by law.