LA JOLLA, Calif., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- It was announced today that
Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq-NNM: AGPH) and Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT)
have granted F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Roche) exclusive marketing rights for
the anti-HIV drug VIRACEPT(R) (nelfinavir mesylate)* in several Asian
territories.  For these marketing rights, Roche will pay to JT and Agouron a
total of $6 million plus royalties on Roche's sales of VIRACEPT.
    Under provisions of a definitive licensing agreement, Roche will seek
approval for VIRACEPT in several Asian countries including China, India,
Turkey, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Roche will
immediately pay a total of $4 million to be shared equally by JT and Agouron
and will pay an additional $2 million to the two companies when VIRACEPT is
first approved in one of the Asian territories.  In January 1997, Agouron and
JT granted Roche marketing rights to VIRACEPT in Europe and certain other
territories outside North America, Japan and Asia.
    VIRACEPT is a synthetic chemical compound designed to inhibit HIV protease
-- an enzyme that plays an essential role in the replication of HIV.  VIRACEPT
is being developed by Agouron in collaboration with the pharmaceutical
division of Japan Tobacco Inc.
    Roche is a leading research intensive health care company that discovers,
develops and markets prescription drugs in major therapeutic areas including
oncology, virology, infectious diseases, cardiology, transplantation, the
nervous system and metabolic diseases.
    Japan Tobacco Inc., a diversified company with annual revenues in excess
of $25 billion and assets exceeding $18 billion, entered the pharmaceutical
business in 1987.  In the field of ethical pharmaceuticals, JT is currently
engaged in clinical development of various drugs, including those for the
treatment of dementia, asthma, and angina pectoris, and launched a 5HT3
antagonist as an anti-emetic in Japan in 1994.  JT presently conducts drug
discovery research at its new Central Pharmaceutical Research Institute in
Osaka, Japan.
    Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated pharmaceutical company
committed to discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of small-
molecule drugs engineered to inactivate proteins which play key roles in
cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases.

    *  VIRACEPT is indicated for the treatment of HIV infection when
antiretroviral therapy is warranted.  This indication is based on analyses of





surrogate marker changes in patients who received VIRACEPT in combination with
nucleoside analogues or alone for up to 24 weeks.  At present, there are no
results from controlled trials evaluating the effect of therapy with VIRACEPT
on clinical progression of HIV infection, such as survival or the incidence of
opportunistic infections.

    For product information, call Agouron Customer Communications toll free at
1-888-847-2237

    This press release may contain forward-looking statements or predictions.
These statements represent our judgment as of this date and are subject to
risks and uncertainties, that could cause the actual results to differ
materially.  Important factors concerning these risks are discussed in our
last Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information on Agouron, you may visit the Agouron Web Site at:

http://www.agouron.com
    VIRACEPT(R) is a registered trademark of Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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