Gilead Board of Directors Appoints James M. Denny as Chairman

Foster City, CA -- January 22, 2001

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) announced today that James M. Denny has been appointed to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Denny, 68, a retired Vice Chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Company, has been a member of the Gilead Board since January 1996, and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee. Mr. Denny is assuming the responsibilities from Donald H. Rumsfeld, who has held the position of Chairman since 1997. Mr. Rumsfeld, a member of Gilead’s Board since 1988, has resigned from the Board to serve the Bush Administration as Secretary of Defense.

“Don Rumsfeld’s insight and contributions over the last twelve years have been invaluable as Gilead has evolved from a promising biotech company into the worldwide biopharmaceutical corporation it is today,” said John C. Martin, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Gilead. “Jim Denny has been a key contributor to our company for five years, and we look forward to his strong leadership as Chairman. The Board of Directors is committed to making Jim’s tenure a successful one for Gilead, its employees and our stockholders.”

Mr. Denny joined Gilead's Board of Directors in 1996 following his retirement from Sears and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee. He is a former director of Astra AB and previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Planning Officer of G.D. Searle & Co., as well as Chairman of Pearle Health Services, Inc., a Searle-affiliated company. He is a director of Allstate Corporation, GATX Corporation and ChoicePoint, Inc., the Chairman of Northwestern Memorial Foundation, and a Senior Advisor to William Blair Capital Partners, LLC.

Gilead SciencesGilead Sciences, Inc., headquartered in Foster City, CA, is an independent biopharmaceutical company that seeks to provide accelerated solutions for patients and the people who care for them. Gilead discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes proprietary therapeutics for challenging infectious diseases (viral, fungal and bacterial infections) and cancer. Gilead maintains research, development or manufacturing facilities in Foster City, CA; Boulder, CO; San Dimas, CA; Cambridge, UK and Dublin, Ireland and sales and marketing organizations in the United States, Europe and Australia.

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