Robertson Stephens Initiates Coverage of MAXY with a Buy Rating and $108 Price Target.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2000

Robertson Stephens Senior Biotechnology Analyst Michael G. King Jr. today initiated coverage of Maxygen (NASDAQ:MAXY) with a Buy rating. Maxygen is the leading "next generation" genomics company, having pioneered the emerging field of Molecular Breeding.

"We are initiating coverage of Maxygen with a Buy rating," said King. "We consider Maxygen to be a "must-own", core holding in the genomics sector with potential returns similar to those of Affymetrix and Millennium."

Building on the advances of the genomics revolution, Maxygen's technology combines classical breeding with molecular biology to effectively direct evolution in order to select for or maximize characteristics of genes and proteins.

"In our view, Maxygen's technology appears fast and cost effective, able to perform in days what nature might do in eons or what science might do in years," said King. "We believe that Maxygen's technology can be applied to multi-billion dollar market opportunities including chemicals/enzymes, therapeutic proteins, agriculture and vaccines. Maxygen employs an attractive business model, receiving R&D funding and near-term royalties through partnerships, and has longer-term proprietary programs to create potential blockbuster therapeutics."

Clients interested in receiving more information should contact their salesperson at [phone].

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