Cytel Appoints Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

(NASDAQ:CYTL) today announced that Robert L. Roe, M.D., F.A.C.P., 55, has been appointed to the newly created position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and to the Board of Directors. Dr. Roe will have responsibility for all development functions of the Company and for bringing its immunotherapeutic drugs to the market.

Dr. Roe brings to Cytel the experience and knowledge of a 20- year career in the pharmaceutical industry, most of which was spent with Syntex Corporation. At Syntex from 1976 to 1995, Dr. Roe advanced through senior-level medical research, pharmaceutical development and regulatory affairs roles. In 1992 he was named President, Development Research Division and Senior Vice President, where his broad responsibilities included pharmacoeconomic research, pharmaceutical manufacturing strategy, strategic marketing and portfolio management. He also served as a member of the Syntex Corporate Executive Committee and the Portfolio Management Committee. In his most recent position, Dr. Roe served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Chugai Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a San Diego based subsidiary of Chugai Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. of Japan, focused on anti-sense research.

"The appointment of Dr. Roe and the creation of this new position, reflect our commitment to advancing Cytel's drug development activities," stated Virgil Thompson, Cytel's President and Chief Executive Officer. "As we move into Phase III clinical trials with our two lead therapeutic compounds, Bob Roe's extensive background and global experience in pharmaceutical development and clinical research will prove enormously beneficial. Having worked closely together for years on the development of more than a dozen important, currently approved and marketed drug products, I can think of no one better suited to assume this role."

Dr. Roe earned his M.D. from the University of California at San Francisco, School of Medicine, and his B.A. with Honors from Stanford University, in Biological Sciences. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology.

Cytel, founded in 1987, is a leader in the discovery, design and development of immunotherapeutics, a new class of drugs which the Company believes will be more selective and have fewer side effects than drugs currently on the market. Utilizing Cytel's advanced understanding of the immune system's operation both in disease and in health, the Company is developing drug candidates under two distinct approaches: the cell adhesion program is directed to the suppression of an inappropriate immune response to treat inflammatory diseases, including reperfusion injury, and the antigen recognition program is directed to the stimulation of a specific immune response to treat infectious diseases and cancers.

CONTACT: Karin Eastham, 619/552-3000