STRUCTURAL BIOINFORMATICS INC. ELECTS DR. MANFRED E. WOLFF TO SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

Business Editors and Health Writers

SAN DIEGO, CA - January 20, 1997 (Business Wire) - Structural Bioinformatics Inc. (SBI), San Diego, developer of leading edge supercomputer-based technology for rapid conversion of novel gene sequence information into protein structural information and drug lead compounds, announced that Dr. Manfred E. Wolff has joined Structural Bioinformatics' Scientific Advisory Board of leading bioinformatics, protein structure, and internationally recognized pharmaceutical industry experts.

Dr. Wolff is the former Senior Vice President of Research at ImmunoPharmaceutics, Inc. (IPI), where he led pioneering research efforts in the generation and use of dynamic 3-D protein structural information in the creation of small molecule lead compounds, and directed the development of IPI-1251 (now TBC-11251) a highly subtype specific endothelin receptor antagonist representing an entirely new class of therapeutics for the potential treatment of congestive heart failure, acute renal failure, pulmonary hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This long acting, highly potent, orally bioavailable compound is now in Phase II clinicals for treatment of congestive heart failure. Prior to joining IPI, Dr. Wolff was Vice President, Discovery Research, for Allergan, Inc. for six years. Prior to that time, he was Chairman and Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco. During Dr. Wolff's tenure at UCSF, he established the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry as a preeminent center of computational chemistry and drug design research. He is an internationally known expert in drug discovery, the author of more than 100 scientific papers and patents, and the editor of the internationally recognized Burger's Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery, the largest and most prestigious multi-volume treatise on this subject matter.

"Dr. Wolff's broad scientific perspective on medicinal chemistry and drug discovery, his outstanding track record in the development of novel therapeutic agents in areas ranging from ophthalmology to cardiovascular medicine, and his "hands on" familiarity with certain aspects of SBI's underlying technology will make him a very valuable contributor to our scientific and business efforts," said Edward T. Maggio, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SBI.

Structural Bioinformatics has developed a supercomputational operating system making possible the immediate and practical use of genomic (gene sequence) data in a broad range of structure-based drug discovery and design processes leading to the rapid design and identification of small molecule lead compounds. SBI is building corporate partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, gene discovery companies, and combinatorial chemistry companies ranging from broad technology collaborations to assistance with specific drug targets or target groups.