Atlas Venture's Year-end Biotech Investment Results Strong Despite Market Downturn; Eleven Life Sciences Ipos Completed Worldwide in 2000.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2001

IPOs: Actelion, Ciphergen, Crucell, deCODE genetics, Exelixis,

IsoTis, MediGene, Modex Therapeutics, Neurochem, Novuspharma and

Variagenics

Atlas Venture, the international venture capital firm, announced today strong year-end results for its life sciences investments. In 2000, a total of 11 of Atlas Venture's biotech portfolio companies - seven in Europe and four in North America - completed initial public offerings, raising more than $1.2 billion. Since 1990, Atlas Venture has invested in more than 50 life sciences companies.

Jean-Francois Formela, Senior Principal in the Boston office of Atlas Venture, states: "We continue to benefit from our diversified, international approach to venture investing at a time when pure plays in other segments are under pressure. As we gather year-end results, our biotechnology portfolio has been a strong contributor to our 2000 performance."

Notes Robert Zegelaar, Senior Principal in Atlas Venture's London office: "Our European life sciences companies have benefited from a sustained window of opportunity for quality companies in Europe, as seven out of our eleven biotech IPOs this year were in Europe. Europe's biotech industry is expanding rapidly, and we have been fortunate to identify several winners early on."

Atlas Venture's 11 IPOs completed in 2000 include the following (date of first trade indicated in parentheses):

-- Actelion Ltd. (April 6) is a Swiss-based company that develops innovative
drugs for cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.

-- Ciphergen (September 29), based in Freemont, Calif., is a leader in
proteomics. Its protein chips help scientists better understand the role of
proteins in the biology of diseases and identify novel drug targets.

-- Crucell (October 27), which was formed through the merger of IntroGene BV
and U-BiSys BV, both from The Netherlands, has integrated a platform for drug
target discovery in the areas of cancer, infectious disease and cardiovascular
disease.

-- deCODE genetics, Inc. (July 17), based in Iceland, is the leader in
population genomics and conducts genetic research into the inherited causes of
common diseases.

-- Exelixis, Inc. (April 10), based in South San Francisco, is the leader in
model system genetics and comparative genomics. Last year Exelixis was selected
by Red Herring as one of the 50 private companies most likely to change the
world.

-- IsoTis (October 11) is a Netherlands-based company that focuses on
developing human tissue and organ replacements with hybrid technologies based
on materials science, tissue engineering and biotechnology.

-- MediGene AG (June 30), a German biotechnology company, focuses on the
treatment of congestive heart failure, malignant melanoma, ovarian cancer and
HPV-infections.

-- Modex Therapeutics (June 21) is a Swiss-based company that focuses on the
repair, regeneration and replacement of human tissue and organs affected by
disease, trauma or premature aging.

-- Neurochem, Inc. (June 13), based in Quebec, Canada, specializes in
developing drugs for Alzheimer's disease, Stroke and Type II Diabetes.

-- Novuspharma (November 9), based in Italy and founded in 1998 as a spin-off
of Boehringer Mannheim/Roche, specializes in anti-cancer drug development.

-- Variagenics, Inc. (July 21), based in Cambridge, Mass., is a leader in
pharmacogenomics and focuses on discovering clinically important genetic
variances that affect response to pharmaceutical drugs.

Atlas Venture has 28 investment professionals worldwide who guide the firm's investment decisions in Internet, communications, and health and life sciences companies. The senior principals responsible for investments in the life sciences sector include Joel Besse and Robert Zegelaar in Europe and Jean-Francois Formela in the United States.

About Atlas Venture

Atlas Venture is the leading international, early-stage venture capital firm investing in Internet, communications, and health and life sciences companies. With offices in Amsterdam, Boston, London, Menlo Park, Munich and Paris, Atlas Venture's investments are split evenly between the United States and Europe.

Founded in 1980, Atlas Venture has organized five international funds, and currently manages $1.6 billion in committed capital. The Atlas Venture investment team is comprised of seasoned operating executives and career venture capitalists who have been deeply involved in the formation and development of more than 300 companies - from entrepreneurial startups to industry-leading enterprises - worldwide.

Recent Atlas Venture portfolio company IPOs include Actelion (SWX: ATLN), deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN), Exelixis (Nasdaq: EXEL), Orchestream Ltd (LSE: OCH), SpeechWorks International (Nasdaq: SPWX) and Variagenics (Nasdaq: VGNX). Recent acquisitions of Atlas Venture portfolio companies include Cerulean Technology (Aether), eGroups (Yahoo), OnDisplay (Vignette), Trading Dynamics (Ariba), Omnia Communications (CIENA), RightPoint Software (E.piphany), Element 14 ( Broadcom) and T.sqware (GlobeSpan). (For more information, see www.atlasventure.com.)

About Mr. Besse

Joel Besse joined Atlas Venture in 1995. After serving as an auditor at Arthur Andersen and at Credit Lyonnais in Paris, he began his career in venture capital in 1991 with SED Ventures, a French venture firm specializing in international life sciences investments. Mr. Besse holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Toulouse and graduated from Ecole Nationale Superieure de I'Aeronautique et de l'Espace. He serves on the boards of Actelion, B2Build, EntoMed, EuropAgri, IDM, Modex, Novuspharma and Saphir Medical.

About Dr. Formela

Jean-Francois Formela joined Atlas Venture in 1993. Prior to joining Atlas Venture, he was Senior Director of Medical Marketing and Scientific Affairs at Schering-Plough in the United States, where he also held biotechnology licensing and marketing responsibilities. A French national, he received his MD from Paris University School of Medicine and received an MBA degree from Columbia University in New York. He is a director of numerous biotech companies, including BioChem Pharma, Ciphergen, deCODE genetics, Exelixis, Variagenics and several private companies.

About Mr. Zegelaar

Robert Zegelaar joined Atlas Venture in 1988. With a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, he concentrates on investments in healthcare and eCommerce companies. He is a founding investor and director of CropDesign, eLabsEurope, Impella, IsoTis, Micromet, Pharmalife, Planet Medica, Prolifix, Renovo and Wavelight.

Contact Information

For further information on Atlas Venture or on any of the biotech companies in its portfolio, please call Davia B. Temin of Temin and Company at [phone]. On the web, Atlas Venture can be visited at www.atlasventure.com.