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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

Contact:

Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Paul Hastings
President and CEO
(650) 829-1000

                BAY CITY CAPITAL ACQUIRES 2.48 MILLION SHARES OF

                        AXYS PHARMACEUTICALS COMMON STOCK

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA. - March 15, 2001 --Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:
AXPH) announced today that Bay City Capital, acting through its funds Bay City
Capital Fund I, LLC (BCC) and The North American Nutrition & Agribusiness Fund
L.P. (NANAF), have acquired a total of 2,482,758 shares of Axys common stock
through the exercise of options. Those options had been granted in connection
with the BCC and NANAF funding of Akkadix Corporation (Akkadix), an agricultural
biotechnology company founded in June 1998 by BCC and Axys. As a result of the
exercise of these options, Axys has acquired an additional 2,702,702 shares of
Series A Preferred Stock of Akkadix Corporation, increasing Axys' ownership
percentage in Akkadix to approximately 43.8% on a fully diluted basis. The Axys
shares were issued in a private placement transaction and are subject to a
Registration Rights Agreement between Axys, BCC and NANAF.

Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an integrated small molecule drug discovery and
development company, has a broad pipeline of products for chronic therapeutic
applications that are partnered with world-class pharmaceutical companies and a
proprietary product portfolio in oncology. Axys is also building shareholder
value through minority investments in affiliated businesses that leverage the
Axys technologies. Currently, these companies include Discovery Partners
International, Inc. (Nasdaq: DPII), a chemistry services company; DNA Sciences,
a genetics company; and Akkadix Corporation, an agricultural biotechnology
company.

                                   * * * * *

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release
contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties which
could cause Axys' actual results to differ materially from those discussed here,
including the risks inherent in early stage development and the reliance on the
efforts of collaborative partners, the risk that Axys collaborations will not be
successful, the risk that clinical trials will not proceed as anticipated or may
not be successful, the risk that Axys will not be successful in entering into
new collaborations, market risk associated with Axys' substantial ownership
interest in DPII, competition and marketing risk, and general economic
conditions that may affect Axys' actual results and developments. Additional
factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not
limited to, those discussed in the sections entitled "What Factors Could Cause
Our Results to Differ Significantly from Those You Might Expect?" and "What
Other Matters Should Stockholders Consider with Respect to Axys?" in the Axys'
SEC Reports, including Axys' report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1999.