Copiague, New York, February 10, 2000 - American Biogenetic Sciences, Inc. (ABS) (OTCBB:MABA) announced today an investment of $3.0 million by Biotechnology Value Fund, L.P. and affiliates of San Francisco. The investment involves the issuance of a Series A of Preferred Stock, which will require shareholder approval. A solicitation of consent has been filed with the SEC and will be mailed to all shareholders of record as of February 7, 2000.

"The investment by the Biotechnology Value Fund serves to validate the value of ABS's broad portfolio of technology and products," said John S. North, President and CEO of ABS. "This investment and our recently announced licensing agreement with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), which included an equity investment of approximately 7.5% of ABS, places ABS in a stronger position for the future.

Mark Lampert, President of BVF, Inc., stated, "We believe ABS represents an attractive long-term investment opportunity, one which is ideally suited to our investment approach. We are particularly excited about ABS-103, a potentially improved version of Depakote®, Abbott Laboratories' blockbuster drug for the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric conditions. We believe the market potential of ABS-103 is enormous."

Statements in this release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and should be considered as subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. For further details and a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, see the companies' Securities and Exchange Commission filings including their annual report or Form 10-K.