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EXHIBIT 99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BUSINESS CONTACT MEDIA CONTACT
Scott Horvitz Jerry Parrott
Vice President - Finance & Administration Jerry Parrott & Associates
3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 703-757-0950
610-458-6043 Page: 800-204-4337
3DP REPORTS CHANGE IN STATUS OF ITS GPCR CRYSTALLIZATION PROJECT
Exton, PA - November 3, 2000 -- 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:
DDDP) today reported that its G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) crystallization
project has not succeeded, as previously believed, in producing crystals and X-
ray data required to determine the structure of the beta-2 adrenergic receptor,
a drug target GPCR. The GPCR crystallization project is an early stage project
that is partially funded by external grants. The Company's predominant focus is
its internal R&D pipeline and collaborations based on its DiscoverWorks
platform, both of which are unrelated to the GPCR crystallization project.
The Company said that an internal inquiry was commenced when the
possibility of a problem was determined in the course of normal research. The
inquiry's preliminary conclusion is that a 3DP scientist may intentionally have
submitted data and material for forming crystals that subsequently proved to be
a different substance, having the same molecular weight as the beta-2 adrenergic
receptor. 3DP has determined that its X-ray data generated in the Company's GPCR
program matches the crystal structure of this different substance, rather than
the beta-2 adrenergic receptor.
"We believe that 3DP has as fine a group of drug discovery scientists as
exists in any company in the world," said David C. U'Prichard, Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer. "Their integrity, their scientific creativity and their hard
work are exemplary. The possibility of scientific misconduct by this one
individual working in this early stage research project does in no way cast a
cloud over the achievements of the 3DP research team. Despite this development,
we continue to have a strong GPCR discovery platform, and we will continue to
move forward with all of our research programs, including the GPCR
crystallization project." Dr. U'Prichard emphasized that 3DP's major research
effort is its internal drug development pipeline and its DiscoverWorks
collaborations. "The early stage GPCR crystallization effort has no impact on
our pipeline or our collaborations based on our DiscoverWorks platform," he
said.
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3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a post-genomics drug discovery
company dedicated to revolutionizing small-molecule discovery. 3DP has developed
and integrated a set of proprietary technologies called DiscoverWorks(TM), which
accelerates and improves the drug discovery process and capitalizes on
opportunities arising from human genome sequencing. 3DP technologies can be
applied to virtually any disease target, and can produce compounds suitable for
drug development in a more timely and cost-effective manner and with a higher
probability of success than conventional methods. 3DP is using its technologies
both to assist collaborators in discovering drug candidates, and to discover and
develop the Company's own drug candidates for cardiovascular disease and cancer,
which it currently intends to license at the pre-clinical or early clinical
stage.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are
"forward-looking" statements which involve a high degree of risk and
uncertainty. Such statements are only predictions, and the actual events or
results may differ materially from those projected in such statements. Factors
that could cause or contribute to differences include, but are not limited to,
the matters discussed in this announcement, risks associated with the Company's
new and uncertain technologies, the Company's dependence on existing strategic
alliances, the Company's dependence on patents and proprietary rights, the
Company's protection and enforcement of its patents and proprietary rights, and
development and availability of competitive products or technologies. Certain of
these factors and others are more fully described in the Company's Registration
Statement on Form S-1, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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NOTICE OF CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST: 3DP will host a conference call and
webcast to discuss this news release on Monday, November 6, 2000 at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern time. The dial-in number to access this call is (800) 967-7184 or (719)
457-2633. Please call five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The
live webcast can be accessed at http://videonewswire.com/3DP/110300 and will
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be available for 90 days following the webcast. A replay of the conference call
will be made available for the convenience of those who are unable to call in at
the scheduled time, beginning shortly after the call and remaining available
through November 9, 2000. The conference call replay can be accessed by dialing
(888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820. The access code for the replay is 432232.
