SENOMYX GRANTED U.S. PATENT COVERING THE COMPOSITION AND USE OF NOVEL BITTER BLOCKERS IN FOODS, BEVERAGES, PHARMACEUTICALS, AND OTHER PRODUCTS

May 11, 2011--Senomyx, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNMX), a leading company focused on using proprietary technologies to discover and develop novel flavor ingredients for the food, beverage, and ingredient supply industries, announced today that the Company has been granted U.S. Patent No. 7,939,671, which includes composition-of-matter claims for a family of Senomyx’s bitter blockers and their use in all forms of foods and beverages, as well as in medicaments and other products. The patent was issued on May 10, 2011 and will be in force until January 17, 2029.

"The broad scope of our new patent underscores the wide-ranging market opportunity for Senomyx’s bitter blockers,” said Kent Snyder, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "These novel flavor ingredients can meet manufacturers’ needs by enabling a significant reduction in bitterness without altering other product properties. Senomyx’s bitter blockers could also allow manufacturers to forgo the use of masking agents or sweeteners to counter unwanted bitter tastes, which may provide both cost-of-goods and nutritional benefits.

"A notable aspect of the new patent is the large variety of product applications included in the claims,” Snyder stated. In addition to foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals, the patent covers use of Senomyx’s bitter blockers to alleviate or eliminate bitter taste in food supplements, nutraceuticals, functional foods, over-the-counter medications, oral care, and other products. The patent also protects use of the bitter blockers in a variety of beverage formats such as ready-to-drink, concentrated, and instant formulations.

The newly issued patent includes specific claims directed to Senomyx’s S6821 bitter blocker, as well as other claims covering a large number of analogs, including S7958. Both S6821 and S7958, which have similar functionality with alternative desirable physical properties, received GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) regulatory designations in October 2010. The GRAS status allows the bitter blockers to be incorporated into a variety of product categories in the U.S. and multiple additional countries.

"Senomyx’s S6821 bitter blocker is currently being evaluated by our collaborators for possible future commercialization, and it has generated interest from potential new partners. We are very pleased that the new patent provides intellectual property protection and exclusivity in the marketplace for S6821, S7958, and numerous other bitter blockers for an extended period of time,” Snyder stated.

"The new patent is a significant addition to Senomyx’s strong intellectual property portfolio,” said Don Karanewsky, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Company. "It is especially beneficial for the Company to be granted composition-of-matter claims, which corroborate the novelty of our flavor ingredients and provide the broadest patent coverage.

"Senomyx’s proprietary technologies for the discovery and development of new flavor ingredients set us apart from companies using traditional methodologies,” Karanewsky explained. "The successful identification of our S6821 and S7958 bitter blockers, which have now received both patent protection and GRAS regulatory approval, demonstrates the value of our approach.”

As of May 10, 2011, Senomyx was the owner or exclusive licensee of 247 issued patents and several hundred pending patent applications in the U.S., Europe, and numerous other countries. The Company’s patents and patent applications include claims regarding proprietary technologies for the discovery of novel flavor ingredients, as well as composition and usage claims for new flavors and flavor modulators.

About Senomyx, Inc. (www.senomyx.com)

Senomyx is using proprietary taste receptor technologies to discover and develop novel flavor ingredients. These include new flavors such as Savory Flavors and Cooling Flavors, as well as flavor modulators such as Bitter Blockers and enhancers of Sweet and Salt tastes. Senomyx is also engaged in a new effort to discover and develop natural high-potency sweeteners. The Company has product discovery and development collaborations with global food, beverage, and ingredient supply companies, some of which are currently marketing products that contain Senomyx’s flavor ingredients. For more information, please visit www.senomyx.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential uses for S6821 and S7958, ongoing activities related to the evaluation and possible future commercialization of S6821 by Senomyx collaborators, the potential to collaborate with new partners for the commercialization of S6821 and S7958, and the scope and duration of intellectual property protection provided by this new patent. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include: Senomyx is dependent on its product discovery and development collaborators for all of Senomyx’s revenue; Senomyx may not enter into any new collaborations related to its bitter blockers; Senomyx is dependent on its current and any potential future collaborators to develop and commercialize S6821 and S7958; Senomyx collaborators may not elect to commercialize any Senomyx bitter blocker or the commercialization may be limited; Senomyx may be unable to protect its intellectual property and proprietary technology and to maintain and enforce its patents and licensing arrangements with various third party licensors; Senomyx may be unable to define the scope and validity of patent protection for products and technologies; and Senomyx’s ability to compete in the flavor ingredients market may decline if Senomyx does not adequately protect its proprietary technologies. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in Senomyx’s most recently filed SEC documents, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, under the headings "Risks Related to Our Business” and "Risks Related to Our Industry.” All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Senomyx undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.