Lexington, Massachusetts, March 21, 2000 -- - AutoImmune Inc. (Nasdaq:AIMM) today announced an agreement under which a subsidiary of Elan Corporation, plc has purchased all of AutoImmune's rights to certain patent applications involving the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. Under the terms of the deal, AutoImmune will receive up to $7 million in cash in a combination of upfront fees and contingent payments over the next three years. At the time the contingent payments are made, the buyer will receive warrants to purchase up to 750,000 shares of AutoImmune stock at the market price for AutoImmune shares when the warrants are issued..

Robert C. Bishop, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer stated: "We believe this transaction is very good for both companies. It provides us with further cash reserves and gives Elan additional proprietary rights in the area of Alzheimer's Disease. AutoImmune has a broad patent portfolio covering a variety of applications for mucosal tolerance therapy. Although we don't have clinical data on every potential use, sale or licensing of our rights is still a realistic possibility as evidenced by this agreement. We will continue to explore all available options to maximize the value our intellectual property."

AutoImmune is a biopharmaceutical company involved in the development of a new class of therapy for the treatment of autoimmune and other cell-mediated inflammatory diseases and conditions.

This release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. The Company?s actual results may differ significantly from results discussed in the forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, including, but not limited to the developmental stage of the Company?s products and uncertainties of clinical trial results, the Company?s capital requirements, history of operating losses and lack of product revenue, its limited manufacturing and marketing experience, and the risks of technological change and competition. These factors are more fully discussed in the Company?s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the section ?Business - Factors to be Considered.? The discussion in the Annual Report on Form 10-K is hereby referenced into this release.