Under the terms of the agreement, LigoCyte will receive equity funding, license fees, research funding and milestone payments based upon successful clinical and commercial progress, as well as a royalty on future product sales. Further financial details have not been disclosed by either party.

We are pleased to collaborate with Corixa for the development of therapeutic and vaccine products that will fight Candida albicans," said Mike McCue, president and CEO of LigoCyte. Candida infection represents a major risk factor for immunocompromised patients and for patients with in-dwelling peripheral catheters, and is also responsible for creating vaginal yeast infections. With approximately 30 million cases of vaginal yeast infections annually and more than 120,000 patients afflicted with systemic Candida infections, we believe our agreement with Corixa will help further the development of much-needed drug therapies and vaccines."

Our agreement with LigoCyte adds an important program to our portfolio as we continue to expand our product development reach into new infectious diseases," said Mark McDade, president and chief operating officer at Corixa. LigoCyte is an innovative research and development biotechnology company with novel technologies. We believe this partnership could create compelling solutions for those patients suffering from Candida infection."

About Candida

Candida albicans can infect both internal organs and mucous membranes of the mouth, throat, and genital tract. This fungus can invade internal organs of the body; especially the lungs, where the infections resemble pneumonia. In persons w~th impaired immunity, the organism can cause chronic infection.

LigoCyte holds the license to therapeutic anti-Candida antibodies developed by researchers at Montana State University. According to McCue, the quality of research and the technology transfer expertise at Montana State have been important contributors to LigoCyte's success.

AboutLigoCyte

LigoCyte is a biotechnology company with a research focus on the molecular and cellular interactions associated with inflammatory disease and infectious diseases.

Its core technology, bioadhesion, is being applied to the development of novel drugs that provide new and better tools for anti-inflammatories, therapeutics, and vaccines. LigoCyte's discovery/development process is based on the concept that the cellular and molecular adhesion/signaling events that contribute to the onset of infections are functionally similar to those associated with the inflammatory response. LigoCyte's patented discovery process, originally developed by LigoCyte scientists to study and characterize the cellular and molecular determinants of inflammation, has been found to be ideal for rapidly advancing new products to fight infectious diseases.

LigoCyte, founded in 1994, is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. For more information, please visit LigoCyte's web site at www.ligocyte.com.

About Corixa

Corixa is a research- and development-based biotechnology company committed to treating and preventing diseases by understanding and directing the immune system. Corixa applies its expertise in immunology and its proprietary technology platforms to the discovery and development of vaccine and other antigen-based products. The company partners with innovative developers and marketers of pharmaceuticals and diagnostic products to make its products available to patients around the world. Corixa was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with research facilities in Hamilton, Montana and Redwood City, California. For more information, please visit Corixa's website at www.corixa.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information presented, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include possible delays or failures by Corixa or LigoCyte to develop and/or commercialize any technology covered by the new collaborative agreement between the parties, possible risks related to adverse clinical results as products including any of such technology move into clinical trials, the impact of alternative technological advances and competition on the collaborative relationship between the parties, inherent risks in early stage development of such technology; and other risks detailed from time to time in Corixa's public disclosure filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1998, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 1999, the Form 8-K filed on April 23, 1999, and the Company' s Registration Statement on Form S-4, filed on August 12, 1999. Copies of Corixa's public disclosure filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are available from its investor relations department.

SOURCE: Corixa Corporation