Raymond M. Withy Promoted to President of Abgenix

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Raymond M. Withy Promoted to President of Abgenix
R. Scott Greer Continues as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
                                 Of Directors

    FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABGX) today
announced the promotion of Raymond M. Withy, Ph.D. to President and Chief
Operating Officer of Abgenix, succeeding R. Scott Greer, who will continue as
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.
    Dr. Withy has served as Chief Business Officer of the company since
January 2000 and as Vice President of Corporate Development since its
inception in June 1996.  Dr. Withy joined Abgenix when it began operating
independently from Cell Genesys, where he previously served as Director of
Business Development.
    R. Scott Greer, Abgenix's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "Ray
has been a significant force in the company since the beginning and continues
to contribute to our goal of building a new biotech powerhouse.  Over the past
four years, he played an important role in building our business operations,
including establishing collaborations with more than two dozen genomics,
pharmaceutical and biotech partners.  I am delighted to see Ray move into his
new role where he will continue to contribute to Abgenix's growth and
progress."
    Dr. Withy has over 16 years experience in the biotechnology industry.
Prior to Abgenix and Cell Genesys, Dr. Withy held various research and
development positions at Genzyme Corporation and Integrated Genetics, Inc.
Dr. Withy received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Nottingham
in the U.K. and was a post-doctoral fellow at the California Institute of
Technology.
    Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and
commercialization of antibody therapies for a variety of diseases.  The
company developed XenoMouse(TM) technology to enable the rapid generation of
high affinity, fully human antibody product candidates to essentially any
disease target appropriate for antibody therapy.  Abgenix uses its XenoMouse
technology to build a large and diversified product portfolio through the
establishment of licensing arrangements with multiple pharmaceutical,
biotechnology and genomics companies and through the development of its own
internal proprietary products.  For more information on Abgenix, visits the
company's website at http://www.abgenix.com.
    Statements made in this press release about Abgenix's XenoMouse
technology, product development activities and collaborative arrangements
other than statements of historical fact, are forward looking statements and
are subject to a number of uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the statements made, including risks associated with
the success of clinical trials, the progress of research and product
development programs, the regulatory approval process, competitive products,
future capital requirements and the extent and breadth of Abgenix's patent
portfolio.  Please see Abgenix's public filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for information about risks that may affect Abgenix.
SOURCE Abgenix, Inc.
http://www.abgenix.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/126548.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 126548
CONTACT:
Ina Cu-Unjieng, Manager, Investor/Public
Relations of Abgenix, Inc., 510-608-4662