IDEC Pharmaceuticals Appoints Michael E. Wiebe, Ph.D. as Vice President of Quality

(BUSINESS WIRE) — IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq:IDPH) today announced the appointment of Michael E. Wiebe, Ph.D. to Vice President, Quality.

Dr. Wiebe will be responsible for directing all Quality activities, including establishing, implementing and enhancing quality assurance, production and validation systems to support all phases of product development and commercialization. Dr. Wiebe will report to Bill Rohn, Chief Operating Officer.

“Mike’s years of experience working in the regulated environment and in-depth knowledge of biologics manufacturing will be critical to integrating best practices in our current facility as well as our future large-scale plant in Oceanside, California,” said William H. Rastetter, IDEC’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.

For the past three years, Dr. Wiebe was Chief Scientific Officer of BioReliance Corporation in Rockville, MD. Prior to that, he was Senior Director, Quality Control at Genentech, Inc. During his tenure at Genentech Dr. Wiebe served on the project team that oversaw development of Rituxan(R), the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of cancer in the United States. IDEC and Genentech developed Rituxan and co-promote it in the U.S.

Dr. Wiebe received a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1971 and a B.S. in Mathematics in 1965 from Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas.

IDEC Pharmaceuticals focuses on the commercialization and development of targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. IDEC’s antibody products act chiefly through immune system mechanisms, exerting their effect by binding to specific, readily targeted immune cells in the patient’s blood or lymphatic systems. For a menu of IDEC’s current news releases and quarterly reports or to retrieve a specific release, call (888) 329-2309. On the Internet check the News Center at IDEC’s website: http://idecpharm.cdmail.biz.

The statements made in this press release contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from IDEC’s expectations. For example, the timing, success and cost of preclinical research and clinical studies, the timing, acceptability and review periods for regulatory filings, the timing of and ability to obtain regulatory approval of products, the achievement of future product sales, the level of manufacturing performance and the risk factors listed from time to time in IDEC’s SEC filings including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2001, may affect the actual results achieved by IDEC. These forward-looking statements represent the company’s judgment as of the date of this release. The company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

IDEC Pharmaceuticals and Rituxan are registered U.S. trademark of the company. The company is headquartered at 3030 Callan Road, San Diego, CA 92121.

CONTACT: IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation Vince Reardon, Director, Corporate Communications 858/431-8656