Affymax, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFFY), a biopharmaceutical company, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced that they were honored with the Allicense 2007 Breakthrough Alliance Award for their exclusive global agreement to develop and commercialize Hematide?, Affymax's lead product candidate, for the treatment of anemia. The award, given for the best and most innovative practices in drafting and negotiating alliances between biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, is sponsored by Recombinant Capital and was presented at the Allicense 2007 conference in San Francisco.

?We are pleased to have received this recognition by our peers in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. This award highlights our strategic alliance with Takeda, which will allow us to co-commercialize Hematide upon approval with equal profit sharing in the United States, while Takeda commercializes it outside of the United States,? said Arlene M. Morris, Affymax's president and chief executive officer.

?We are delighted to have received this award recognizing our collaboration with Affymax on such a potentially important product to the worldwide anemia market,? said Yasuchika Hasegawa, president, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. ?We look forward to continued progress in the Hematide clinical development program to provide an important new treatment option for patients. Hematide complements Takeda's strategy to grow our core therapeutic franchises with innovative products.?

Affymax and Takeda are collaborating on the development of Hematide and will co-commercialize the product in the United States. Takeda has been granted an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to develop and commercialize Hematide outside the United States, including Japan. Under the terms of the collaboration, Affymax has received $132 million in upfront and milestone payments and $10 million from the sale of equity. Affymax is eligible to receive development and regulatory milestone payments of up to an additional $345 million and commercial milestone payments upon successful commercialization of Hematide of up to $150 million.

About Hematide

Hematide is a novel synthetic, pegylated peptide that binds to and activates the erythropoietin receptor. The product is being developed for treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease and cancer. Affymax is preparing for Phase 3 clinical trials in patients on dialysis and in patients not on dialysis and is currently in discussions with the FDA on the design of this Phase 3 program.

About Affymax, Inc.

Affymax, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel peptide-based drugs to improve the treatment of serious and often life-threatening conditions. Affymax's lead product candidate, Hematide?, is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease and cancer. For additional information, please visit www.affymax.com.

About Takeda

Takeda, located in Osaka, Japan, is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. Additional information about Takeda is available through its corporate website, www.takeda.com.