8-K

                                 UNITED STATES
                       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): November 2, 2004

                           ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



        Delaware                      0-21696                22-3106987
(State or other jurisdiction        (Commission           (I.R.S. Employer
     of incorporation)              File Number)         Identification No.)


              26 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

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

                                 Not Applicable
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

|_|  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17
     CFR 230.425)

|_|  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
     240.14a-12)

|_|  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

|_|  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))


ITEM 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors;
          Appointment of Principal Officers.

     (d)  On November 1, 2004, Peter J. Nelson was appointed to the Board of
          Directors of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. There are no arrangements
          between Mr. Nelson and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Nelson
          was selected as a director, nor are there any transactions to which
          ARIAD is a party and in which Mr. Nelson had a material interest that
          are required to be disclosed under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. Mr.
          Nelson will chair the audit committee. A copy of the press release
          announcing Mr. Nelson's appointment is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1.




ITEM 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (c)  The following exhibits are filed with this report



Exhibit
Number         Description
- ------         -----------
99.1           Press release dated November 2, 2004.



                                   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 hereunto duly authorized.

                         ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.





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

Date: November 2, 2004


                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
                                  -------------

Exhibit
Number          Description
- ------          -----------
99.1            Press release dated November 2, 2004.

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

ARIAD Appoints Peter J. Nelson, Senior Financial Executive, to Its Board of
Directors

     CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2004--ARIAD Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) today announced the appointment of Peter J. Nelson to its
Board of Directors. From 1997 to 2004, Mr. Nelson was senior vice
president-operations, chief financial officer, and treasurer of Alexandria Real
Estate Equities, Inc., a NYSE real estate investment trust principally providing
scientific research space to life science entities and biotechnology companies.
Mr. Nelson, currently a financial advisor, will chair the Board's audit
committee.
     Previously, Mr. Nelson was chief financial officer of Lennar Partners, Inc.
(nka LNR Property Corporation) where he was responsible for all aspects of
financial management of the real estate portfolio for this NYSE affiliate of
Lennar Corporation. He also held senior management positions at Public Storage,
Inc. and Westrec Properties, Inc. Mr. Nelson received a B.S. degree from
California State University, Northridge and is a certified public accountant.
     "I am very pleased to have Peter Nelson join our Board of Directors and
become chair of our audit committee," said Harvey J. Berger, M.D., chairman and
chief executive officer of ARIAD. "Pete brings extensive experience in corporate
governance and financial systems in public companies to our Board, along with
expertise in managing large-scale financial operations and transactions. This
resource will be critical as we move towards becoming an integrated bio-oncology
company."

     About ARIAD

     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, which may be useful in treating certain 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 accurately estimate the actual research and development
expenses and other costs associated with the preclinical and clinical
development of our product candidates, the adequacy of our capital resources and
the availability of additional funding, risks and uncertainties regarding the
Company's ability to successfully conduct preclinical and clinical studies of
its product candidates, risks and uncertainties that clinical trial results at
any phase of development may be adverse or may not be predictive of future
result or lead to regulatory approval of any of the Company's product
candidates, and risks and uncertainties relating to 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.
              Kelly Lindenboom, 617-621-2345