EXHIBIT 28


                      [LETTERHEAD OF OXFORD GLYCOSCIENCES]

PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

Professor Max M Burger
Friedrich Miescher Institut
P0 Box 2543
Basel
Switzerland

                                                                   18 March 1998

Dear Professor Burger

Appointment to the Board of Directors of Oxford GlycoSciences Plc (the
"Company")

On behalf of the Company, I write to confirm your appointment as a Non-Executive
Director of the Company with effect from 18 March 1998 on the following terms:

Appointment

1.    Your appointment, subject to re-election when appropriate by the Company
      in general meeting, will be for a fixed term of three years. Unless your
      appointment is renewed on or prior to that date, you undertake to resign
      as a Director of the Company forthwith after such date. In addition, your
      appointment will be subject to the Company's Articles of Association to be
      adopted by the Company on its admission to the Official List of the London
      Stock Exchange (a copy of the relevant extracts are enclosed and a full
      copy of the Articles may be obtained from the Company Secretary).

2.    Notwithstanding the other provisions of this letter, the Company shall be
      entitled to terminate your appointment in accordance with the provisions
      of the Articles of Association of the Company and, upon such termination
      or upon your resignation for any reason, you shall not be entitled to any
      damages for loss of office and no fee will be payable to you in respect of
      any unexpired portion of the term of your appointment.



Duties

3.    During your appointment, you will be expected to attend regular and
      emergency Board meetings. You will also be expected to attend the annual
      general meeting of the Company, any extraordinary general meeting of the
      Company and meetings of any committees of the Board, including the Audit,
      Compensation and Nomination committees, on which you serve. The dates and
      details of all such meetings shall be notified to you in advance.

Fees

4.    You will be entitled to a fee for your services as a Director of
      (pound)10,000 per annum (less any necessary statutory deductions). This
      will be payable in arrears by equal quarterly instalments. This fee will
      be paid to you, or to such other person or body as you may direct on
      giving reasonable notice to the Board or Chairman. The fee will be
      reviewed annually by the Board.

Expenses

5.    In addition to the fees described in paragraph 4 above, the Company shall
      reimburse you for all reasonable out of pocket expenses necessarily
      incurred in carrying out your duties.

6.    In order to enable you to carry out the duties of your office, you will
      after consultation with the Board and the Chairman (and, if appropriate,
      jointly with any other Non-executive Directors whose interests are the
      same as yours), be entitled to seek external independent legal advice at
      the Company's expense.

Insurance

7.    The Company will obtain appropriate director's and officer's liability
      insurance for your benefit during your appointment.

Other directorships and business interests

8.    During your appointment, you will consult with the Chairman of any other
      (or further) directorships of companies which you hold or accept to enable
      the Company Secretary to comply with the disclosure obligations under the
      Companies Act 1985.



Code of conduct

9.    During the period of your appointment you will comply with the Stock
      Exchange Model Code for Securities Transactions by Directors of Listed
      Companies, the Company's code of conduct and such other requirements as
      the Board may from time to time specify.

Confidentiality

10.   You must apply the highest standards of confidentiality, and save insofar
      as such information is already in the public domain, you must keep secret
      and must not use for your own or another's advantage, nor disclose to any
      person, firm, company or organisation (whether during the course of the
      appointment or at any time after its termination), any information which
      you know or ought reasonably to have known to be confidential concerning
      the business or affairs of the Company and any Group companies or any of
      its or their customers. The restrictions in this clause shall not apply:

(a)   to any disclosure or use authorised by the Board or required by law or by
      virtue of your appointment;

(b)   so as to prevent you from using your own personal skill in any business in
      which you may be lawfully engaged after your appointment has ended.

In this letter Group shall mean any of (i) the Company and (ii) any subsidiary
of the Company from time to time, Subsidiary shall have the meaning ascribed to
it by Section 736 Companies Act 1985, as amended.

Please confirm your agreement to the above by signing and returning to me the
enclosed duplicate of this letter.

Yours sincerely


/s/ [ILLEGIBLE]
- ---------------------------------------------
For and on behalf of Oxford GlycoSciences Plc

Encl.


I have read and agree to the above terms regarding my appointment as a
Non-executive Director of Oxford GlycoSciences Plc.


/s/ Max M. Burger                               March 26, 1998
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Professor Max Burger                            [Date]