PDL BioPharma Announces First Quarter 2009 Financial Results

- Revenues From Continuing Operations Increase 25 Percent to $62.6 Million -

- Conference Call Today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time -

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev., May 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PDL BioPharma, Inc.
(PDL) (Nasdaq: PDLI) today reported financial results for the first quarter
ended March 31, 2009.

Total revenues from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2009 were
$62.6 million, a 25 percent increase from $50.2 million for the same period in
2008. The increase was primarily due to increases in royalty revenues driven
by higher product sales of Avastin(R), Herceptin(R) and Lucentis(R), which are
marketed by Genentech, Inc., a subsidiary of F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., and
sales of Tysabri(R), which is marketed by Elan Corporation, Plc. Royalty
revenues are based on fourth quarter product sales by PDL's licensees and
include those for Synagis(R), which is marketed by MedImmune, Inc.

"We were pleased to begin fulfilling the goal of income distribution to
stockholders by paying our first post-spin-off dividend in April, a result of
the revenues and profits PDL is generating from royalties on a diversified
portfolio of successful products," said John McLaughlin, president and chief
executive officer of PDL BioPharma. "Our new and focused strategy seeks to
optimize our assets to benefit stockholders without the diversion, expense,
and considerable risk of research and development."

Total general and administrative expenses from continuing operations in the
first quarter of 2009 were $4.7 million compared with $12.7 million in the
first quarter of 2008. The decrease was primarily driven by the Company's
reduced cost structure. Significant expense items for the first quarter of
2009 included $1.6 million in legal fees for patent prosecution, patent
defense and corporate compliance as well as $0.9 million in software
depreciation expense for which the software is now fully depreciated and is no
longer in use.

Net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $37.5 million, or $0.23 per
diluted share, compared with a net loss of $61.9 million in the same period of
2008, or a net loss of $0.42 per diluted share.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $27.7 million for the first
quarter of 2009 as compared with net cash used in operating activities of
$29.3 million for the first quarter of 2008. In addition to cash provided by
operating activities in the three months ended March 31, 2009, we recognized
$18.1 million of excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation, which is
classified as a financing cash flow. At March 31, 2009, PDL had cash, cash
equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash of $193.2 million,
compared with $147.5 million at December 31, 2008.

2009 Dividends
PDL previously announced that it would pay two dividends to its stockholders
in 2009 of $0.50 per share. The first dividend, totaling $59.7 million, was
paid on April 1, 2009 to all stockholders who owned shares of PDL on March 16,
2009. The second dividend will be paid on October 1, 2009 to stockholders of
record on such date as to be determined by the Board of Directors at its June
2009 meeting.

Recent Developments

-- Elected Frederick Frank and Jody Lindell to the Company's Board of
Directors in March 2009 and subsequently designated Mr. Frank as Lead
Director.

-- As a result of the April 1, 2009 dividend payment, we announced
An adjustment to the conversion rate for the Company's 2.75%
Convertible Subordinated Notes due August 16, 2023 (the "2023 Notes").
The conversion rate, as adjusted, is 123.715 shares of common stock per
$1,000 principal amount of the 2023 Notes, effective March 17, 2009.
The conversion rate for the 2023 Notes was previously 114.153 shares
of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the 2023 Notes.

-- As a result of the April 1, 2009 dividend payment, we announced an
adjustment to the conversion rate for the Company's 2.00% Convertible
Senior Notes due February 15, 2012 (the "2012 Notes"). The conversion
rate, as adjusted, is 89.165 shares of common stock per $1,000
principal amount of the 2012 Notes, effective March 17, 2009. The
conversion rate for the 2012 Notes was previously 82.162 shares of
common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the 2012 Notes.

-- Alexion agreed to pay PDL $25 million, of which it paid $12.5 million
in January 2009 and is obligated to pay the second installment of
$12.5 million in June 2009.

-- In February of 2009, we received a letter from MedImmune asserting that
it may be entitled to pay a lower royalty rate on sales of Synagis
because of our settlement with Alexion. In April of 2009, we sent a
letter notifying MedImmune of the exercise of certain of our rights
under our license agreement, the exercise of which we believe precludes
MedImmune from being entitled to a lower royalty rate based on the
Alexion settlement.

-- Approval for Raptiva(R) was suspended in the European Union and in
Canada in February of 2009 and product was withdrawn from the U.S.
market in April of 2009 because of safety concerns. In 2008, royalties
attributable to sales of Raptiva were $3.9 million or 1.3% of total
revenue from continuing operations.

2009 Financial Guidance
PDL reaffirms its previous revenue guidance and continues to anticipate strong
revenue growth in 2009 increasing from 2008 to a range of $310 to $325 million
despite the recent withdrawal of Raptiva. Royalties from MedImmune are not
included subsequent to the first quarter of 2009 due to ongoing legal
activities as discussed above. Revenue growth expectations are primarily
driven by increases in product sales of Avastin, Herceptin, Lucentis and
Tysabri.

PDL continues to expect its general and administrative expenses for 2009 to
range from $12 million to $15 million, of which approximately 50 percent may
be related to legal expense, patent defense and other professional fees. Net
income after taxes for 2009 continues to be projected in the range of $185 to
$200 million and cash generated in 2009 still is expected to be in the range
of $260 to $280 million.

Conference Call Details
To access the live conference call today, May 7, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern
Time via phone, please dial (877) 361-8830 from the United States and Canada
or (706) 679-8297 internationally. The conference ID is 97783926. Please dial
in approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the call. A telephone
replay will be available beginning approximately one hour after the call
through May 14, 2009, and may be accessed by dialing (800) 642-1687 from the
United States and Canada or (706) 645-9291 internationally. The replay
passcode is 97783926.

To access the live and subsequently archived webcast of the conference call,
go to the company's Web site at http://www.pdl.com and click "Investors."
Please connect to the web site at least 15 minutes prior to the call to allow
for any software download that may be necessary.

About PDL BioPharma
PDL BioPharma, Inc. pioneered the humanization of monoclonal antibodies and,
by doing so, enabled the discovery of a new generation of targeted treatments
for cancer and autoimmune diseases. PDL is focused on maximizing the value of
our antibody humanization patents and related assets. PDL receives royalties
on sales of a number of humanized antibody products marketed today and also
may receive royalty payments on additional humanized antibody products
launched before patent expiry in late 2014. This press release and further
information about PDL BioPharma, Inc. can be found at www.pdl.com.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including regarding
PDL's expectations with respect to its 2009 royalty revenues, expenses, net
income and cash provided by operating activities.

Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties.
Actual results may differ materially from those, express or implied, in these
forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause differences between current
expectations and actual results include, but are not limited to, the
following:

-- The expected rate of growth in royalty-bearing product sales by PDL's
existing licensees;
-- The relative mix of royalty-bearing products manufactured and sold
outside the U.S. versus manufactured or sold in the U.S.;
-- The ability of our licensees to receive regulatory approvals to
market and launch new
royalty-bearing products and whether such products, if launched, will
be commercially successful;
-- Changes in any of the other assumptions on which PDL's projected
royalty revenues are based;
-- The outcome of pending litigation or disputes; and
-- The failure of licensees to comply with existing license agreements,
including any failure to pay royalties due.

Other factors that may cause PDL's actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press
release are discussed in PDL's filings with the SEC, including the "Risk
Factors" sections of its annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC.
Copies of PDL's filings with the SEC may be obtained at the "Investors"
section of PDL's website at www.pdl.com. PDL expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in PDL's
expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statements are based for any reason, except as
required by law, even as new information becomes available or other events
occur in the future. All forward-looking statements in this press release are
qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

NOTE: PDL BioPharma and the PDL BioPharma logo are considered trademarks of
PDL BioPharma, Inc.

~financial statements to follow~

PDL BIOPHARMA, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)

Three Months Ended March 31,
2009 2008
Revenues $62,622 $50,205
General and administrative expenses 4,693 12,709
Operating income 57,929 37,496
Interest and other income, net 336 4,864
Interest expense (3,574) (3,555)
Income from continuing
operations before income
taxes 54,691 38,805
Income tax expense 17,234 1,034
Income from continuing
operations 37,457 37,771
Loss from discontinued
operations, net of income
taxes (1) - (99,646)
Net income (loss) $37,457 $(61,875)

Income (loss) per basic share
Continuing operations $0.31 $0.32
Discontinued operations - (0.85)
Net income (loss) per basic
share $0.31 $(0.53)

Income (loss) per diluted
share
Continuing operations $0.23 $0.29
Discontinued operations - (0.71)
Net income (loss) per diluted
share $0.23 $(0.42)

Cash dividends declared per
common share $1.00 $-

Shares used to compute income
(loss) per basic share 119,327 117,525
Shares used to compute income
(loss) per diluted share 172,570 141,232

(1) The financial results associated with both PDL's former
commercial operations which were sold in March 2008 and PDL's
former biotechnology operations which were spun off in December
2008 have been presented as discontinued operations for the three
months ended March 31, 2008.

PDL BIOPHARMA, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

March 31, December 31,
2009 2008
Cash, cash equivalents,
short-term investments
and restricted cash $193,192 $147,527
Total assets $219,065 $191,142
Total stockholders'
deficit $(422,297) $(352,569)

PDL BIOPHARMA, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW DATA
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

Three Months Ended
March 31,
2009 2008
Net income (loss) $37,457 $(61,875)
Adjustments to reconcile net income
(loss) to net cash provided by (used
in) operating activities (3,596) 33,769
Changes in assets and liabilities (6,148) (1,225)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities $27,713 $(29,331)

PDL BIOPHARMA, INC.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ON DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (1)
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

Biotechnology Operations Three Months
Ended March 31,
2009 2008
Net revenues $- $7,124
Total costs and expenses - (15,325)
Income tax expense (benefit) - (30)
Loss from discontinued operations $- $(8,171)

Commercial Operations Three Months
Ended March 31,
2009 2008
Net revenues $- $39,359
Total costs and expenses - (102,807)
Income tax expense (benefit) - 28,027
Loss from discontinued operations $- $(91,475)

(1) The financial results associated with both PDL's former
commercial operations which were sold in March 2008 and PDL's
former biotechnology operations which were spun off in December
2008 have been presented as discontinued operations for the
three months ended March 31, 2008.

SOURCE PDL BioPharma, Inc.

Cris Larson, Chief Financial Officer of PDL BioPharma, Inc., +1-775-832-8500;
or Carolyn Wang of WeissComm Partners, +1-415-946-1065, cbwang@wcpglobal.com,
for PDL BioPharma, Inc.