IBT Makes Investment

Intl. Biotechnology Trust PLC
2 August 2001

                                                                             
IBT MAKES INVESTMENT OF $7.5 MILLION IN NEWLY MERGED MICROCIDE PHARMACEUTICALS
                           AND THE ALTHEXIS COMPANY                           

2 August 2001, London, UK: International Biotechnology Trust plc. (LSE: IBT)
today announced that it has committed to invest $7.5 million (£5.3 million) in
the newly combined operations of Microcide Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:
MCDE) and the Althexis Company, Inc.  On Monday 30th July Microcide and
Althexis announced the signing of a definitive agreement to merge their
businesses in a stock-for-stock exchange; completion of the merger and private
placement remains subject to MCDE shareholder approval.

The total financing round raised $60 million (£42 million), and in addition to
IBT, investors included Prospect Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates
and Schroder Ventures' International Life Sciences Fund II.  

Kate Bingham, General Partner of Schroder Venture Life Sciences, investment
advisors to IBT, who will join the Board of the newly merged company,
commented on the investment:

'We have been seeking quality investment opportunities for IBT following our
appointment as investment advisors at the end of last year.  This is the
largest investment we have made this year for IBT and it will be one of its
top ten.  This is also the second time that the Schroder Venture Life Sciences
team has backed Mark Skaletsky who will be chairman and CEO of the newly
merged company.'  Mark Skaletsky previously built and sold Geltex to Genzyme.

The merger of Microcide Pharmaceuticals and the Althexis Company will unite
Microcide's discovery platforms, including its VALID Microbial Genomics
technologies, with Althexis' proprietary target validation system, known as
ACTT.  It will also accelerate Microcide's multiple drug development programs
in infectious disease by applying Althexis' Structure-Based Design (SBDD)
technology to lead optimisation.

The $60 million in private equity funding is being provided in a private
placement of Microcide convertible redeemable preferred stock.  

The preferred stock is convertible into shares of Microcide common stock at a
fixed exchange ratio of $3.00 per share, which represents a 24% discount from
the 20-day average closing price of Microcide as of July 19 2001, the date on
which the Company authorised the offering.  Preferred shares converted into
common stock will be registered by a Form S-3 filing, and will be subject to
certain lockup provisions for up to 9 months after closing.  Under the terms
of the merger agreement, as unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of
both Althexis and Microcide, Microcide will issue approximately 5.3 million
shares of common stock for all outstanding shares of Althexis, and will assume
the outstanding options of Althexis.  All but approximately 400,000 of the
newly issued Microcide shares to Althexis shareholders will be subject to
certain restrictions on resale for one year from closing.

For further information, please contact:

International Biotechnology Trust
Andrew Barker
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Schroder Ventures Life Sciences
Katja Stout
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]       
Email: [e-mail]

GCI Financial
Emily Morris/Katherine Harris
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]


Notes to Editors:

International Biotechnology Trust plc 
http://www.internationalbiotrust.com       

International Biotechnology Trust plc (IBT) was launched in 1994 to take
advantage of the investment opportunities arising in mid-stage life science
companies, with emphasis on investing in relatively few companies, and
involving a close working relationship with investee companies through the
provision of strategic management support and sector expertise. 

International Biotechnology Trust - Key Data
* Founded in 1994 
* Net asset value of £111 million at 24 July 2001 
* NAV per share of 229.12p at 24 July 2001
* Listed on London Stock Exchange (IBT.L) 
* Advised by Schroder Ventures Life Sciences Advisers (UK) Ltd and managed by
Schroder Investment Management Ltd


Schroder Ventures Life Sciences
www.svlifesciences.com
Schroder Ventures* has been investing in life science companies since 1983.
Schroder Ventures Life Sciences (SVLS)** was established in 1994, as the
dedicated life sciences arm of Schroder Ventures. SVLS has established itself
as a leading international life sciences investor with a team of 18 dedicated
professionals in London and Boston.  SVLS advises funds of approximately $600m
and has invested in more than 100 life sciences companies world-wide.

*Schroder Ventures is a leading international private equity group advising 25
funds world-wide with committed capital totalling $7 billion. To date,
Schroder Ventures' funds have invested in over 400 companies in a mixture of
early stage transactions and buy-outs.

** Schroder Ventures Life Sciences Advisers (UK) Ltd is regulated by IMRO.


The Althexis Company, Inc.
http://www.althexis.com
Althexis' mission is to discover, develop and commercialise new medicines to
treat human diseases.  Althexis' discovery approach is centered on the use of
structure-based drug design (SBDD), a powerful method of drug discovery that
exploits atomic-level information about potential disease targets.  Althexis
combines SBDD and related technologies with expertise in more traditional
discovery tools, such as high throughput screening and medicinal chemistry.
Althexis's first drug targets an essential bacterial enzyme, which will
address the growing resistance of bacteria to current therapies, a worldwide
healthcare threat.  Althexis is collaborating in this effort with PLIVA
Pharmaceuticals Inc, the original inventor of azithromycin, which is one of
the world's most prescribed antibiotics.  Althexis has recently introduced a
powerful and proprietary target validation system, known as ACTT (Althexis
Calorimetric Target Triage), which uses a highly sensitive calorimetric
methodology to assess the functional activity of proteins that serve as drug
targets. The combination of ACTT with its SBDD capabilities provides Althexis
with a truly comprehensive and integrated platform for drug discovery.


Microcide Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
http://www.microcide.com
Microcide is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery,
development and commercialisation of novel antimicrobials for the improved
treatment of serious bacterial, fungal and viral infections.  The Company's
three discovery research platforms address the growing problems of antibiotic
resistance and the need for improved antifungal and antiviral therapeutics. 
The Company's Cephalosporin Antibiotics and Efflux Pump Inhibition platforms
focus on developing novel antibiotics and antibiotic potentiators (efflux
inhibitors) to directly address existing bacterial and fungal resistance
problems.  Microcide's Microbial Genomics platform utilises proprietary
bacterial, fungal and viral genetics and genomics tools - the VALID System -
to discover entirely new classes of antimicrobial agents.