Mark Perry Joins Nuvelo Board of Directors

"I want to thank Jean-Francois personally for his contributions throughout the company's post-merger transition," said Dr. George Rathmann, chairman of Nuvelo's board of directors. "We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Mr. Perry currently serves as the executive vice president of operations for Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD - ), a biopharmaceutical company located in Foster City, California. Mr. Perry joined Gilead in 1994 as vice president, general counsel and secretary; assumed the additional responsibilities of chief financial officer in 1996 and was promoted to his current position in 2000. At Gilead, Mr. Perry is responsible for worldwide commercial operations and the legal, intellectual property, manufacturing and facilities functions.

Prior to joining Gilead, Mr. Perry served as a partner at the law firm Cooley Godward LLP, based in San Francisco and Palo Alto, California. Mr. Perry also sits on the board of directors of IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and DNA Sciences, Inc.

"We are pleased to welcome Mark to our board of directors," said Dr. Rathmann. "We will be able to leverage his financial, legal, operational and commercial background and expertise as we navigate Nuvelo through future business development deals, clinical trials and other corporate activities."

About Nuvelo

Nuvelo, Inc., formed by the merger of Hyseq Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and VARIAGENICS, Inc., is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of life improving therapeutics for the treatment of human disease. Nuvelo's lead product candidate, alfimeprase, is partnered with Amgen and is currently in two Phase II trials in two indications, peripheral arterial occlusion and catheter occlusion. Additional programs include drug discovery focused on antibody targets and secreted proteins.

Information about Nuvelo is available at our new Web site at www.nuvelo.com or by phoning 408-215-4000.

Statements contained in this press release which are not historical in nature, are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "may," "estimate," "goals," and "potential," among others. Such statements are based on our management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results and performance could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including, without limitation, the risk that we may not successfully integrate the VARIAGENICS business following our recent merger, uncertainties relating to drug discovery, clinical development processes and the development and commercialization of our molecular diagnostics technology; changes in relationships with strategic partners and dependence upon strategic partners for the performance of critical activities under collaborative agreements; the impact of competitive products and technological changes; uncertainties relating to patent protection and regulatory approval; and uncertainties relating to our ability to obtain substantial additional funds required for progress in drug discovery and development. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in Nuvelo, Hyseq and VARIAGENICS filings with the SEC, including without limitation Nuvelo's annual report on Form 10-K and the related Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2002 and Nuvelo's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2003. We disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.