ARIAD Founding Board Member Named ''Director of the Year'' by National Association of Corporate Directors; After Enron's Collapse, Ray Troubh Appointed Chairman.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2003

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) today announced that Raymond S. Troubh, a founding director of ARIAD, was honored last night as "Director of the Year" by the National Association of Corporate Directors, the premiere organization for boards and directors of U.S. business corporations and an authoritative voice on matters of corporate governance policy and practice. Mr. Troubh, elected chairman of Enron in the aftermath of that company's debacle, was recognized for his leadership "under intense public scrutiny" of the newly constituted Enron board.

With over twenty-eight years of experience as a non-executive director of more than twenty-five public companies, Mr. Troubh is widely recognized for his thoughtful leadership in the national debate on the duties and responsibilities of independent directors.

"Successful public companies have strong boards representing the interests of shareholders. We have been extremely fortunate to have someone with Ray's integrity, experience and dedication on ARIAD's board of directors since its founding," said Harvey J. Berger, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of ARIAD. "Serving on our board with Ray are executives and principals from Bear Stearns, Merck, Deloitte & Touche, Genzyme, Lavipharm, and Bristol-Myers Squibb - all ensuring that ARIAD's governance issues are deliberated and resolved by highly engaged and conscientious shareholder representatives."

In addition to being a director of ARIAD and chairman of Enron, Mr. Troubh is currently a board member of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Gentiva Health Services, and General American Investors Company, among others. Previously, he served as a director of such public companies as Time Warner, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Inc., and America West Airlines. Mr. Troubh is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Yale Law School.

Further information about Mr. Troubh and the 2003 Corporate Governance Conference of the National Association of Corporate Directors can be found on the web at http://www.nacdonline.org/conference03/director.asp.

ARIAD is engaged in the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines that regulate cell signaling with small molecules. The Company is developing a comprehensive approach to the treatment of cancer and is primarily focused on a series of product candidates for targeted oncology indications. ARIAD also has an exclusive license to pioneering technology and patents related to the discovery, development and use of drugs that regulate NF-(kappa)B cell-signaling activity, which has been implicated in many major 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 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 the Company's ability to conduct preclinical and clinical studies of its product candidates and the results of such studies, regulatory oversight, intellectual property claims, the timing, scope, cost and outcome of legal proceedings, future capital needs, key employees, dependence on the Company's collaborators and manufacturers, markets, economic conditions, products, services, prices, reimbursement rates, competition and other risks 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, 2002. 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.