Dyax Corp. and Serono Enter Into Library License and Funded Research Agreements for Discovery of Therapeutic Antibodies.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Dyax Corp. (Nasdaq: DYAX) announced today that it has granted a non-exclusive license to its proprietary antibody phage display libraries to Serono (virt-x: SEO and NYSE: SRA) for the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies. In addition, Dyax will perform funded research on certain targets of Serono to identify therapeutic antibodies. Under the terms of the agreement, Dyax receives technology license fees and full-time employee payments from Serono for the funded research, as well as clinical milestone payments and royalties on net sales of any products that may result from Serono's development and commercialization of antibodies from Dyax's libraries. The agreements also provide Serono with sublicenses to relevant third-party antibody phage display patents that may be used with Dyax's technology.

Henry E. Blair, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dyax commented, "We are very excited to have entered into an agreement with Serono, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies. Dyax's collaborations with many of the top biotechnology companies demonstrate the industry's acknowledgement of our capabilities in protein-based therapeutics." Mr. Blair continued, "We believe Dyax's technology will prove to be beneficial in expanding Serono's pipeline of product candidates."

Dyax's antibody platform is considered to be an industry leading technology. Dyax leverages its technology through funded research and library license collaborations, including with companies such as: Amgen, Biogen-Idec, Genzyme, ICOS Corporation, ImClone, MedImmune and others.

About Dyax

Dyax is focused on advancing novel biotherapeutics for unmet medical needs, with an emphasis on cancer and inflammatory indications. Dyax utilizes its proprietary drug discovery technology to identify antibody, small protein and peptide compounds for clinical development.

Dyax's lead product candidate is DX-88, a recombinant small protein that is currently in clinical trials for its therapeutic potential in two separate indications. In its joint venture with Genzyme Corporation, Dyax has successfully completed three Phase II trials of DX-88 for the treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE). A Phase III trial is ongoing. Independently, Dyax has successfully completed a Phase I/II trial of DX-88 for the prevention of blood loss during heart surgery (CABG procedures) and is planning a Phase IIb trial for further development of DX-88 in this indication. DX-88 has orphan drug designation in the U.S. and E.U. for the treatment of angioedema.

Dyax identified DX-88 and other compounds in its pipeline using its patented phage display technology, which rapidly selects compounds that bind with high affinity and specificity to therapeutic targets. Dyax leverages this technology broadly with over 75 revenue generating licenses and collaborations for therapeutic discovery, as well as in non-core areas such as affinity separations, diagnostic imaging, and research reagents.

Dyax Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the expected benefits of Dyax's license to Serono. Statements that are not historical facts are based on Dyax's current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which Dyax competes. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors which may affect the expected benefits of Dyax's license to Serono include the risks that: Dyax's future benefits from its non-exclusive licensing program depend on the efforts and priorities of its licensees, which may be subject to changes in the licensee's business direction or priorities; others may develop technologies or products superior to Dyax's phage display technologies; Dyax may not be able to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for its products and technologies; and other risk factors described or referred to in Dyax's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dyax cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and Dyax undertakes no obligations to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law. Dyax specifically disclaims responsibility for information describing Serono and its business other than the license with Dyax.

Dyax and the Dyax logo are the registered trademarks of Dyax Corp.

Dyax is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has antibody discovery facilities in Liege, Belgium. For online information about Dyax, please visit www.dyax.com.