PRAECIS REPORTS DECREASED NET LOSS FOR QUARTER.

Praecis Pharmceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRCS), Waltham, Mass., has announced consolidated financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2002.

The company's net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2002 was approximately $5,568,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of approximately $22,217,000, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2001. For the nine months ended September 30, 2002, net loss was $32,469,000, or $0.63 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $47,061,000, or $0.95 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2001.

The decreased loss for the three months ended September 30, 2002 was due primarily to the settlement in connection with the termination of the company's agreement with Amgen Inc. As previously announced in August, the company paid $13,000,000 in final settlement of all amounts payable, resulting in a one-time net gain of $16,020,000. For the third quarter of 2002, compared to the third quarter of 2001, operating expenses were lower due principally to a reduction in spending on the company's prostate cancer program. These expense reductions were offset by a decline in reimbursement revenue from the company's former collaborators and decreased net interest income.

Malcolm L. Gefter, Ph.D., Praecis' chairman and CEO, commenting on the company's prostate cancer program, stated, "We intend to resubmit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), during the first quarter of 2003 our New Drug Application for Plenaxis(TM), for use in a defined sub-population of advanced prostate cancer patients for whom the use of existing hormonal therapies may not be appropriate. Results from the clinical trial supporting this indication were presented at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and suggest that patients, when placed on Plenaxis therapy, were able to avoid surgical castration (orchiectomy), the study's primary clinical goal (endpoint). We intend, upon FDA approval of our application, to market and sell Plenaxis through our own marketing and sales team in the United States."

Dr. Gefter continued, "We are pleased with the progress that we have made this year on our other drug development programs. On October 10, 2002, we updated our investors on the status and progress of all of our drug development programs. In summary, we are currently conducting a pharmacokinetic study of Plenaxis for the treatment of endometriosis. We are very pleased with the interim data from our Phase 1a study in healthy volunteers of Apan(TM), our drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Preliminary observations from cerebrospinal fluid from these healthy volunteers indicate that Apan successfully passes through the blood-brain barrier and apparently stimulates the clearance of amyloid beta, a suspected key culprit in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Finally, we are intending to file an Investigational New Drug Application for PPI-2458 during 2003, and are continuing to evaluate in preclinical studies the potential utility of this compound for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis as well as certain types of cancer."

On September 30, 2002, the company had cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of approximately $209,057,000, compared to approximately $266,216,000 on December 31, 2001. As previously announced, the company projects it will end the year with approximately $181,000,000 to $186,000,000 in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Assuming timely regulatory approval to market Plenaxis in the United States for a defined sub-population of advanced prostate cancer patients, partnering of clinical programs at opportune times and continued conservative fiscal management, the company believes that it should have sufficient financial resources to execute its operating plan and attain profitability by 2006 without the need to return to the capital markets.

Praecis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of pharmaceutical products using its proprietary LEAP(TM) (Ligand Evolution to Active Pharmaceuticals) technology. LEAP combines the power of biological selection with the advantages of medicinal chemistry in a unique molecular evolution process. Praecis employed LEAP in the development of Plenaxis(TM), its candidate for the treatment of hormonally responsive advanced prostate cancer and endometriosis. Praecis also has a clinical program in Alzheimer's disease, and has five programs in the research or preclinical development stage.

For more information, call 781-795-4274 or visit http://www.praecis.com.