Business Services Industry

Tripos Appoints BDO Seidman as Independent Auditor

Business Wire, July 19, 2004

ST. LOUIS -- Tripos, Inc. (Nasdaq:TRPS) today announced it has appointed BDO Seidman, LLP, as its independent auditor. The appointment is the result of a search directed by the Audit Committee of the board of directors of Tripos, following the resignation of Ernst & Young in May of 2004. BDO Seidman is an international firm that provides auditing services to a wide range of publicly traded companies, and it will review Tripos' financial statements beginning with the quarter ending June 30, 2004.

"The board believes the decision to appoint BDO Seidman is in the best interest of the company and its stockholders," said Dr. John P. McAlister, president and CEO of Tripos.

BDO Seidman replaces Ernst & Young, which had been Tripos' auditor since Tripos became a publicly traded entity in 1994. The decision to change auditors was not caused by any disagreement between Tripos and Ernst & Young on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure.

About Tripos, Inc.

Tripos (Nasdaq:TRPS) combines leading-edge technology and innovative science to deliver consistently superior, chemistry-research products and services for the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other life science industries. Tripos collaborates with clients to accelerate and improve the creation of life-enhancing products. Within Tripos' Discovery Informatics (DI) business, the company provides software products and consulting services to develop, manage, analyze and share critical drug discovery information. Within Tripos' Discovery Research (DR) business, Tripos' medicinal chemists and research scientists partner directly with clients in their research initiatives, leveraging state-of-the-art information technologies and research facilities. Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., Tripos spans the world with global research operations and an international client base. Further information on Tripos can be found at http://www.tripos.com/.> This press release may contain certain statements that are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "believes," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and projections made by management and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, actual events, outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in such forward-looking statements. We have identified certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Except as otherwise required under federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not have any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.