EXHIBIT 99.1



ARIAD Announces Webcast of Its Corporate Presentation at Banc of
America Healthcare Conference

    CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 2004--ARIAD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) today announced that it will
provide a live webcast of its corporate presentation at the Banc of
America Securities Healthcare Conference on Friday, May 21, 2004, at
the Four Seasons in Las Vegas, Nevada. The presentation will be given
at 7:40 p.m. (ET) by Harvey J. Berger, M.D., chairman and chief
executive officer of ARIAD, who will provide an overview of the
Company and its progress in key programs.
    A direct link to the audio portion of the live presentation can be
accessed at ARIAD's website (http://www.ariad.com/investor) by
clicking on this link. An archived audio webcast also will be
available beginning approximately two hours after completion of the
presentation until 5:00 p.m. (ET) on May 26, 2004. To ensure a timely
connection to the live webcast, it is recommended that participants
register at least fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled webcast.
    Further information about the conference can be found on the web
at http://www.bofasecurities.com/corporate/content/h4_speaker.asp.

    ARIAD is engaged in the discovery and development of breakthrough
medicines to treat cancer by regulating cell signaling with small
molecules. The Company is developing a comprehensive approach to
patients with cancer that addresses the greatest medical need -
aggressive and advanced-stage cancers for which current treatments are
inadequate. ARIAD also has an exclusive license to pioneering
technology and patents related to certain NF-(kappa)B treatment
methods, and the discovery and development of drugs to regulate
NF-(kappa)B cell-signaling activity.
    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, 2003. 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.


    CONTACT: ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
             Tom Pearson, 610-407-9260
             or
             Kathy Lawton, 617-621-2345