LA JOLLA PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY PROVIDES UPDATE ON RIQUENT

SAN DIEGO, May 31, 2005 -- La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (Nasdaq: LJPC) today announced that it has received "fast track" designation for Riquent® (abetimus sodium) for the treatment of lupus renal disease from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA’s fast track program is designed to facilitate the development and to expedite the review of new drugs that are intended to treat serious or life threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need.

In October 2004, the FDA informed the Company that Riquent was "approvable" pending the successful completion of a clinical benefit trial. A clinical benefit trial designed to meet this requirement was initiated in 2004 and is ongoing, although the Company has delayed further patient enrollment until additional funding is obtained.

The Company currently only has limited financial resources and if it does not receive funding from a collaborative agreement or obtain other financing in the near future, it will not have sufficient resources to complete the ongoing clinical benefit trial or to continue its operations beginning in the first quarter of 2006.

"Lupus represents one of the most significant unmet needs in medicine today, as currently available treatments are associated with significant side effects," said Steve Engle, Chairman and CEO of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company. "No new treatments have been approved in the U.S. in almost 40 years."

About Lupus
Lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE, is a chronic, potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease. About 90% of lupus patients are female, and many develop the disease during their childbearing years. Approximately 50% of lupus patients have renal disease, which can lead to irreversible kidney damage, kidney failure and the need for dialysis, and is a leading cause of death in lupus patients. Latinos, African Americans and Asians face an increased risk of serious renal disease associated with lupus. The current standard of care for lupus renal disease often involves treatment with high doses of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs that can cause severe side effects including diabetes, hypertension and sterility, and may leave patients vulnerable to opportunistic infections.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company is a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases and inflammation afflicting several million people in the United States and Europe. The Company is developing Riquent for the treatment of lupus kidney disease, a leading cause of sickness and death in patients with lupus. The Company is also developing small molecules to treat various other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. The Company's common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol LJPC. For more information about the Company, visit its Web site: http://www.ljpc.com.

The forward-looking statements in this press release involve significant risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors, both foreseen and unforeseen, could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Forward-looking statements include those that express a plan, belief, expectation, estimation, anticipation, intent, contingency, future development or similar expression. Although we are seeking collaborative agreements to support the development of Riquent and our small molecule inflammation program, we cannot guarantee that we will be successful in establishing any such collaborative agreements or that the terms of any potential agreements will result in the payment of significant funds to us. The analyses of clinical results of Riquent, previously known as LJP 394, our drug candidate for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus ("lupus") and any other drug candidate that we may develop, including the results of any trials that are ongoing or that we may initiate in the future, could result in a finding that these drug candidates are not effective in large patient populations, do not provide a meaningful clinical benefit, or may reveal a potential safety issue requiring us to develop new candidates. The analysis of the data from our Phase 3 trial of Riquent showed that the trial did not reach statistical significance with respect to its primary endpoint, time to renal flare, or with respect to the secondary endpoint, time to treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or cyclophosphamide. The results from our clinical trials of Riquent, including the results of any trials that are ongoing or that we may initiate in the future, may not ultimately be sufficient to obtain regulatory clearance to market Riquent either in the United States or Europe, and we may be required to conduct additional clinical studies to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of Riquent in order to obtain marketing approval. There can be no assurance, however, that we will have the necessary resources to complete any current or future trials or that any such trials will sufficiently demonstrate the safety and efficacy of Riquent. Our blood test to measure the binding affinity for Riquent is experimental, has not been validated by independent laboratories and will likely be reviewed as part of the Riquent approval process. Our other potential drug candidates are at earlier stages of development and involve comparable risks. Analysis of our clinical trials could have negative or inconclusive results. Any positive results observed to date may not be indicative of future results. In any event, regulatory authorities may require clinical trials in addition to our current clinical trial, or may not approve our drugs. Our ability to develop and sell our products in the future may be adversely affected by the intellectual property rights of third parties. Additional risk factors include the uncertainty and timing of: our clear need for additional financing or a collaborative agreement; obtaining required regulatory approvals, including delays associated with any approvals that we may obtain; our ability to pass all necessary FDA inspections; the increase in capacity of our manufacturing capabilities for possible commercialization; successfully marketing and selling our products; our lack of manufacturing, marketing and sales experience; our ability to make use of the orphan drug designation for Riquent; generating future revenue from product sales or other sources such as collaborative relationships; future profitability; and our dependence on patents and other proprietary rights. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof. Interested parties are urged to review the risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and in other reports and registration statements that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

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