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SENOMYX ANNOUNCES REGULATORY APPROVAL OF SAVORY FLAVOR INGREDIENTS IN CHINA

SAN DIEGO, CA - March 8, 2007 - Senomyx, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNMX), a leading company focused on using proprietary technologies to discover and develop novel flavor ingredients for the packaged food and beverage industry, announced today that the Chinese Ministry of Health has granted official regulatory approval in China for the Company's savory flavor ingredients via the publication of the 2007 List of Flavors Intended for Use in Food (GB 2760). These savory enhancers, discovered and developed by Senomyx, are intended to allow the reduction or elimination of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and to augment the flavor of naturally occurring glutamate found in many food and beverage products.

"Regulatory approval in China opens the world's largest MSG market to products containing Senomyx's proprietary savory ingredients," said Kent Snyder, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "Senomyx is primarily responsible for obtaining international regulatory approvals for the flavor ingredients that will be marketed by our collaborators. Achieving this status in China is important for our partners' future commercialization plans and broadens the Company's potential royalty revenue base."

In the U.S., Senomyx's savory flavor ingredients have been determined to be Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, administered by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The GRAS determination enables incorporation of the savory enhancers into a variety of food products including sauces, frozen foods, processed cheese and snack foods. This status is recognized in, and allows for commercialization in, a significant number of countries in addition to the U.S., and facilitates approval in much of the rest of the world.

About Senomyx, Inc. (www.senomyx.com) Senomyx is a leading company focused on using proprietary taste receptor-based assays, screening technologies and optimization chemistry to discover and develop novel flavors, flavor enhancers and taste modulators for the packaged food and beverage industry. Senomyx's current programs focus on the development of flavor ingredients in the savory, sweet, salt and bitter areas. Senomyx has entered into product discovery and development collaborations with six of the world's leading packaged food and beverage companies: Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Cadbury Schweppes, Campbell Soup Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods Global, Inc. and Nestlé SA.

Forward-Looking Statements 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 capabilities of Senomyx's savory flavor ingredients; the size of any market for Senomyx's products; Senomyx's ability, or Senomyx's collaborators' ability, to commercialize products incorporating Senomyx's flavor ingredients in packaged foods and beverages; and Senomyx's potential royalty revenues. 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 is dependent on its current and any future product discovery and development collaborators to develop and commercialize any flavor ingredients Senomyx may discover; Senomyx may be unable to develop flavor ingredients useful for formulation into products; Senomyx or its collaborators may be unable to obtain and maintain the regulatory approval required for flavor ingredients to be incorporated into products that are sold; even if Senomyx or its collaborators receive a regulatory approval and incorporate Senomyx flavor ingredients into products, those products may never be commercially successful; 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 Reports 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.

Contacts

Investor Relations:

Gwen Rosenberg

Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Senomyx, Inc.

858-646-8369

gwen.rosenberg@senomyx.com