Telik Announces Presentation of Additional Data Describing Mechanism of Action of TLK286 in Human Cancer Cells.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 8, 2000

Telik, Inc. (Nasdaq: TELK) today announced the presentation of data supporting the mechanism of cancer cell targeting for Telik's TLK286 cancer product candidate. The results were presented in Amsterdam at the 11th Annual National Cancer Institute (NCI) - European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) - American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Symposium on New Drugs in Cancer Therapy.

The experiments were conducted under the direction of Kenneth Tew, Ph.D., chairman of the pharmacology department at Fox Chase Cancer Center (Philadelphia) and adjunct professor of pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania. The objective of the studies was to evaluate the importance of GST P1-1 to the activity of TLK286 in several cancer types including ovarian cancer. Results demonstrated that resistance to TLK286 was much more difficult to induce than to conventional cancer drugs. Importantly, cross-resistance to the clinically important drugs adriamycin, cis-platinum, and taxol did not occur in cell lines that were resistant to TLK286.

"These studies provide strong support for the unique mechanism of cancer cell targeting of TLK286," said Michael M. Wick, M.D., Ph.D., Telik's chairman and chief executive officer. "They also suggest that TLK286 has increased cytotoxicity in the presence of GST P1-1, a protein which is elevated in ovarian and certain other chemoresistant tumors. This could potentially have important safety and efficacy implications in the clinical setting."

TLK286 is a small molecule drug candidate that was developed through the application of Telik's proprietary TRAP chemogenomics technology. TLK286 binds to GST P1-1, a protein that is expressed in high levels in ovarian tumors and certain other solid tumor types. Elevated GST P1-1 levels also are associated with greater resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. Upon binding to GST P1-1, TLK286 releases a cancer cell-killing molecule. Telik is currently conducting a Phase I trial of TLK286 in patients with refractory cancers.

Telik will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time today, November 8, 2000, to discuss third quarter financial results, recent clinical results, and research and clinical plans for the remainder of 2000 and early 2001. Michael M. Wick, M.D., Ph.D., Telik's chairman and chief executive officer will host the call. He will be joined by Cynthia M. Butitta, Telik's chief financial officer. A live webcast of the conference call will be available by logging on to www.telik.com. Please log on to the site at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the conference call to allow time for any software downloads that may be required. The webcast will be available through November 15, 2000. To access a digitized replay of the conference call by telephone, please call 800-475-6701 from inside the U.S. and 320-365-3844 from outside the U.S. and use the access code 548362. The digitized replay will be available approximately two and one half hours after the conclusion of the conference call and will remain available through November 15, 2000.

Telik, Inc. of South San Francisco, California, is a biopharmaceutical company working to discover, develop and commercialize small molecule drugs to treat serious diseases for which there is significant demand for new therapies. The company's most advanced development programs are for the treatment of cancer and diabetes. Telik's product candidates were all discovered using its proprietary technology known as TRAP, which enables the rapid and efficient discovery of small molecule drug candidates. Additional information can be found at www.telik.com.

You should not rely on forward-looking statements contained in this press release including, but not limited to, the potential applicability of these preclinical results to the clinical setting. Telik can give no assurance with regard to these statements. TLK286 may have different resistance or cytotoxicity profiles in the clinical setting than those reported in these preclinical tests, and these differences could affect the safety or efficacy of TLK286 in humans. Additional information regarding risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by statements in this press release is set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 11, 2000. Telik assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release.