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                                                                    Exhibit 23.1


              INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT ON SCHEDULE AND CONSENT



The Board of Directors
IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation:

The audits referred to in our report dated January 28, 2002, included the
related consolidated financial statement schedule as of December 31, 2001, and
for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2001, included
in the 2001 Annual Report on Form 10-K. This consolidated financial statement
schedule is the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility
is to express an opinion on this consolidated financial statement schedule based
on our audits. In our opinion, such consolidated financial statement schedule,
when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken
as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth
therein.

We consent to incorporation by reference in registration statements (Nos.
333-65494, 333-47904 and 333-81625) on Forms S-8 and in the registration
statements (No. 333-85339) on Form S-3 of IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation of
our report dated January 28, 2002, relating to the consolidated balance
sheets of IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation and subsidiary as of December 31,
2001 and 2000, and the related consolidated statements of operations,
stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 2001, and our report on the related financial
statement schedule, which reports appears in the 2001 Annual Report on Form
10-K of IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

                                                  KPMG LLP



San Diego, California
March 28, 2002