July 28, 2004

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

Osaka, Japan, July 28 2004 - Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda") announced today that the formation of a collaboration of joint research with Lexicon Genetics Incorporated, The Woodlands, Texas ("Lexicon"), for development of new drugs for high blood pressure.

In this joint research, Takeda will have exclusive access to all drug targets from Lexicon's Genome5000 that control blood pressure for three-year term of the agreement, and will evaluate and verify the targets to create the new generation of drugs for treatment of hypertension. Takeda has paid an upfront payment of $12 million to Lexicon upon conclusion of the agreement. Takeda will pay milestone for each target selected for development and when the development project reaches certain stage, and also royalty once the product from this joint research is commercialized. Further financial detail is not disclosed.

"In addition to our in-house research for the creation of new drugs, Takeda is pursuing all means of enhancing its R&D pipeline, including external drug discovery and development alliances," said Takashi Soda, Ph.D., director, general manager of the pharmaceutical research division of Takeda. "We are confident that Lexicon's Genome5000™ program will provide us with important drug targets for treatment of hypertension, which will enable us to create a new generation of anti-hypertension drugs."

"Takeda has a well established global hypertension franchise and is committed to creating a sustainable leadership position in this disease area," said Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Lexicon. "With Lexicon's robust drug discovery pipeline, it is important to form strategic collaborations to rapidly advance our novel programs into clinical development. Forming such an alliance with a recognized leader like Takeda is the best way to accelerate discoveries in this field toward commercialization."

Takeda is allocating resources mainly to its four core therapeutic areas(*) as priority of research & development including life-style related diseases, and accelerating all the processes from the drug discovery to product launch under the MPDRAP strategy(**). Research for anti-hypertensive drugs is positioned as one of the most important projects for life-style related diseases area.

(*) Four core therapeutic areas:

life-style related diseases
cancer and urological diseases, including gynecological disorders central nervous system diseases, including bone and joint diseases life-cycle management of drugs for digestive system disorders

(**) MPDRAP strategy:

MPDRAP is an abbreviation of each function of Marketing, Production,
Development, Research, Alliance and Patent. Through comprehensive evaluation of each project across the internal divisions, Takeda is realizing even more appropriate resource allocation and rapid R&D processes by improving the speed and strategic focus of ecision-making.

About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
Takeda, located in Osaka, Japan, is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. Additional information about Takeda is available through its corporate website, http://www.takeda.com/.

About Lexicon Genetics
Lexicon Genetics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery of breakthrough treatments for human disease. Lexicon is systematically discovering the physiological and behavioral functions of genes to identify potential points of therapeutic intervention, or drug targets. Lexicon makes these discoveries using its proprietary gene knockout technology to model the physiological effects that could be expected from prospective drugs directed against novel targets. The Company has advanced knockout-validated targets into drug discovery programs in six therapeutic areas: diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, immune system disorders, ophthalmic disease, and psychiatric and neurological disorders. Lexicon is working both independently and through strategic collaborations and alliances to accelerate the development and commercialization of its discoveries. Additional information about Lexicon is available through its corporate website, .

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