RNS Number:6286P
Cambridge Antibody Tech Group PLC
8 January 2002

02/CAT/ 02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12.00 GMT 07.00 EST Tuesday 8 January 2001


For Further Information Contact:

Cambridge Antibody Technology               Weber Shandwick Square Mile
                                            (Europe)
Tel: +44 (0) 1763 263 233                   
                                            Tel: +44 (0) 20 7601 1000
David Chiswell, Chief Executive Officer     
                                            Kevin Smith
John Aston, Finance Director                
                                            Graham Herring
Rowena Gardner, Head of Corporate
Communications
Immunex Corporation                         BMC Communications/The Trout Group
                                            (USA)
Tel: 001 206 389 4363
                                            Tel: 001 212 477 9007
Mark R. Leahy, Director, Investor Relations
                                            Brad Miles, ext 17 (media)
Kris Greco, Manager, Communications
                                            Brandon Lewis, ext.15 (investors)



CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES PROGRESS IN HUMAN ANTIBODIES ALLIANCE
                           WITH IMMUNEX CORPORATION

   Immunex exercises exclusive right to develop human antibodies against an
                              undisclosed target

Melbourn, UK... Cambridge Antibody Technology (LSE: CAT; NASDAQ: CATG) and
Immunex Corporation (NASDAQ: IMNX) announce today that Immunex has exercised
an exclusive licence option in respect of development and potential
commercialisation of human monoclonal antibodies.

The exercise of the option, one of eight granted by CAT to Immunex under an
agreement signed in December 2000, grants Immunex the exclusive right to
develop human monoclonal antibodies specific for an undisclosed disease
target. Accordingly CAT has received a licence fee and will potentially
receive milestone and royalty payments on future antibody-based products
developed and commercialised by Immunex.



                                    -ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT)

  * CAT is a UK biotechnology company using its proprietary technologies in
    human monoclonal antibodies for drug discovery and drug development. Based
    near Cambridge, England, CAT currently employs around 250 people.
  * CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ since June
    2001. CAT raised #41m in its IPO in March 1997 and #93m in a secondary
    offering in March 2000.
  * CAT has an advanced platform technology for rapidly isolating human
    monoclonal antibodies using phage display systems. CAT has extensive phage
    antibody libraries, currently incorporating more than 100 billion distinct
    antibodies. These libraries form the basis for the Company's strategy to
    develop a portfolio of antibody-based drugs and to utilise antibodies as
    tools for target validation. Six human therapeutic antibodies developed by
    CAT are at various stages of clinical trials.
  * CAT has alliances with a large number of biotechnology and
    pharmaceutical companies to discover, develop and commercialise human
    monoclonal antibody-based products. CAT has also licensed its proprietary
    human antibody phage display libraries to several companies for target
    validation and drug discovery. CAT's collaborators include: Abbott, AMRAD,
    Elan, Eli Lilly, Genetics Institute, Genzyme, Human Genome Sciences,
    Immunex, Incyte, Merck & Co., Inc, Oxford GlycoSciences, Pharmacia,
    Pfizer, Wyeth-Ayerst, Xerion and Zyomyx.
  * In December 2000, CAT licensed its proprietary human phage antibody
    libraries to Immunex for the discovery, development and potential
    commercialisation of human monoclonal antibodies directed to Immunex
    proprietary targets. CAT and Immunex have since entered a broad
    collaborative alliance in respective of exclusive co-development of human
    antibody-based drugs against two inflammatory disease targets identified
    by Immunex.



Immunex Corporation

  * Immunex Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company based in Seattle,
    Washington, and has nearly 1500 employees in the United States.
  * The company discovers, develops, manufactures and markets innovative
    therapeutic products for the treatment of human diseases, including cancer
    and immunological disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. The company's
    research focus has produced a pipeline of potential products that targets
    some of the most serious medical challenges people face, including cancer,
    multiple sclerosis, heart disease and asthma.



Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: This press release contains statements about Cambridge Antibody
Technology Group plc ("CAT") that are forward looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press
release may be forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

These forward looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding
CAT's present and future business strategies and the environment in which CAT
will operate in the future. Certain factors that could cause CAT's actual
results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the
forward looking statements include: market conditions, CAT's ability to enter
into and maintain collaborative arrangements, success of product candidates in
clinical trials, regulatory developments and competition.
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