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Bassil Dahiyat Named One of the World's Top Young Innovators

Bassil Dahiyat Named One of the World's Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, MIT's Magazine of Innovation. Dahiyat To Be Honored September 24-25 at The Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT

Monrovia, Calif.--Sept. 23, 2003--Technology Review, MIT's magazine of innovation, announced in its October issue that Bassil Dahiyat, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Xencor, a drug discovery company, has been named to its 2003 list of the world's 100 Top Young Innovators. The TR100, chosen by the editors of Technology Review and an elite panel of judges, consists of 100 individuals under age 35 whose innovative work in technology has a profound impact on today's world. Nominees are recognized for their contributions in transforming the nature of technology in industries such as biotechnology, computing, energy, medicine, manufacturing, nanotechnology, telecommunications and transportation.

Dr. Dahiyat has worked at the forefront of the new field of computational protein design since its inception, beginning with his graduate work at Caltech. After completing his doctorate, Dr. Dahiyat co-founded Xencor, a drug discovery company dedicated to designing safer and more effective protein therapeutics. Using computational methods to create new protein sequences with diversity and properties unprecedented in nature, Xencor is rationally designing protein drugs with features tuned for clinical use. This approach greatly expands the universe of possible protein drugs compared to relying on naturally occurring proteins, which often do not have the needed characteristics. The direct linking of two seemingly disparate fields, advanced modeling with molecular biology, allows Xencor to create the next generation of biotechnology drugs.

TR100's unparalleled panel of judges includes:
-- Vinton Cerf, WorldCom Corporation
-- David Tennenhouse, Intel
-- Dr. Gordon Bell, Microsoft
-- Christina Lampe-Onnerud, TIAX
-- Stephen Quake, California Institute of Technology
-- Rodney Brooks, MIT CSAIL
-- George Whitesides, Harvard University

“Innovation and technological change are essential to worldwide economic growth. Now, more than ever, it's important to recognize that there is no one technology driving the next wave of success, but rather several that, when fused together, will create another era of significant change for our society. The members of this year's TR100 hail from fields such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, wireless, energy, computing and medicine. Each is actively developing the emerging technologies that we feel will profoundly impact our world in the century ahead,“ said Robert Buderi, editor-in-chief of Technology Review.

Dahiyat will be honored September 24 - 25 at The Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT. The event features keynotes, panels and breakout discussions on the transformative technological innovations that have the potential to fuel new economic growth and dramatically change the future. Speakers include Michael Dell, Founder and CEO of Dell Computer Corporation; Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman of the Board and CEO of General Electric; Bob Metcalfe, Founder of 3Com Corporation and General Partner at Polaris Venture Partners; and Nathan Myhrvold, Ph.D., Managing Director of Intellectual Ventures and former CTO of Microsoft Corporation. More information on ETC2003 can be found at www.etc2003.com.

About Technology Review Inc.

Technology Review Inc., an MIT Enterprise, delivers essential information about emerging technologies on the verge of commercialization. Since 1998, paid circulation for the company's magazine, Technology Review, has more than tripled, climbing from 92,000 to 315,000. Combined with its signature events, newsletters, and online businesses, Technology Review reaches over a million senior technology thinkers and influencers - including venture capitalists, chief scientists, MIT alumni and students, researchers, senior corporate executives, investors, and innovators - throughout the world each month.

About Xencor

Xencor discovers and develops protein therapeutics using its proprietary rational protein design platform. Xencor's platform applies high performance computing and advanced molecular biology to rapidly discover drugs with novel mechanisms and improved safety and efficacy. Xencor is a privately held biopharmaceutical company located in Monrovia, CA. Additional information is available at www.xencor.com. Contact: Xencor, Bassil Dahiyat, 626-737-8000, info@xencor.com.