8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

                                 Date of Report
              (Date of earliest event reported): September 26, 2002

                           ARIAD PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
                           ---------------------------
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


        Delaware                       0-21696                 22-3106987
        --------                       -------                 ----------
(State or Other Jurisdiction   (Commission File Number)     (I.R.S. Employer
     of Incorporation)                                     Identification No.)


                              26 LANDSDOWNE STREET
                         CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139
              (Address of principal executive offices and zip code)


               Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
                                 (617) 494-0400



ITEM 5.    OTHER EVENTS

         On September 26, 2002, the Registrant publicly disseminated a press
release announcing that it has initiated studies of one class of its lead
anti-cancer drugs for use in a newly emerging medical technology - drug-delivery
stents - to reduce reblockage of coronary arteries following coronary
antioplasty and stenting.

         The information contained in the press release dated September 26, 2002
is incorporated herein by reference and attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto.

ITEM 7.    FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS.


           (c)    Exhibits.

                  99.1  The Registrant's Press Release dated September 26, 2002.




                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                       ARIAD PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.



                                       By:
                                              ---------------------------------
                                              Edward M. Fitzgerald
                                              Senior Vice President and
                                                Chief Financial Officer


Date:    September 26, 2002

                                       2



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number  Description                                      Sequential Page Number
- ------- -----------                                      ----------------------

99.1    The Registrant's Press Release dated                       [4]
        September 26, 2002. "ARIAD Announces New Use
        of its Lead Anti-Cancer Drug Delivered in
        Coronary Stents for Treatment of Coronary
        Artery Disease"

                                       3

EX-99

                                                                   EXHIBIT 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        CONTACT:           Tom Pearson
                                                                (610) 407-9260

                                                                Kathy Lawton
                                                                (617) 621-2345

              ARIAD ANNOUNCES NEW USE OF ITS LEAD ANTI-CANCER DRUG
     DELIVERED IN CORONARY STENTS FOR TREATMENT OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

               Invited Presentation at Drug-delivery Stent Summit

Cambridge, MA, September 26, 2002 -- ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA)
today announced that it has initiated studies of one class of its lead
anti-cancer drugs for use in a newly emerging medical technology - drug-delivery
stents - to reduce reblockage of coronary arteries following coronary
angioplasty and stenting.

These findings are being presented in an invited lecture by Tim Clackson, Ph.
D., senior vice president, science and technology of ARIAD, at the annual
Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting being held this week in
Washington, D.C.

ARIAD has pioneered the discovery and development of inhibitors of the protein
mTOR (also known as sirolimus analogs), which block the proliferation and
migration of vascular smooth muscle cells - the primary cause of narrowing and
reblockage of injured coronary arteries. ARIAD's lead mTOR inhibitor, AP23573,
blocks cancer cell growth and proliferation and is in pre-IND development for
the treatment of cancer.

"The development of drug-delivery stents incorporating one of our proprietary
sirolimus analogs represents a major opportunity for us," said Harvey J. Berger,
M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of ARIAD. "Because of the potency of
our mTOR inhibitors and the availability of a clinical candidate for this
application, we are in active discussions with potential commercial partners
that could open up this market for us."

Coronary stents are wire-mesh scaffolds that are inserted into opened arteries
to prevent reblockage of the vessel. Approximately two million stents are
implanted yearly, close to half of them in the United States. While stenting
reduces the incidence of reblockage, scar tissue often forms around the stent
and reblocks the artery. This is estimated to occur in 20 to 30 percent of
patients who receive stents that do not release drugs to prevent reblockage.

Recent clinical trials found extremely low reblockage rates in patients treated
with stents that deliver sirolimus itself. If ongoing clinical trials with such
stents confirm these clinical results, stents that deliver drugs are likely to
become the next-generation standard-of-care for patients with coronary artery
disease. In that case, drug-delivery stents have been estimated to increase the
worldwide stent market from approximately $2 billion per year to as much as $5
billion annually.

Further information about the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics
meeting is available on the web at http://www.tctmd.com.

ARIAD is engaged in the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines that
regulate cell signaling with small molecules. The Company is developing a
comprehensive approach to the treatment of cancer and blood diseases and has
seven product candidates in development. ARIAD also has an exclusive license to
pioneering technology and patents related to the discovery, development and use
of drugs that regulate NF-(kappa)B cell-signaling activity, which has been
implicated in many major diseases.

Additional information about ARIAD can be found on the web at
http://www.ariad.com.

Some of the matters discussed herein are "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
are identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect,"
"project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar
meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial
performance. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and
are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
results, outcome of events, timing and performance to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks
include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the Company's
ability to conduct preclinical and clinical studies of its product candidates
and the results of such studies, regulatory oversight, intellectual property
claims, the timing, scope, cost and outcome of legal proceedings, future capital
needs, key employees, dependence on the Company's collaborators and
manufacturers, markets, economic conditions, products, services, prices,
reimbursement rates, competition and other risks detailed in the Company's
public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including ARIAD's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001. The
information contained in this document is believed to be current as of the date
of original issue. The Company does not intend to update any of the
forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform these
statements to actual results or to changes in the Company's expectations, except
as required by law.

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