Contact: Matthew M. Loar
         Chief Financial Officer
        (650) 562-1424


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                GENELABS RECEIVES APPROVABLE LETTER FROM FDA

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - August 29, 2002 - Genelabs Technologies, Inc.
(Nasdaq: GNLB) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) issued an approvable letter on August 28 for Genelabs' New Drug
Application (NDA) for Prestara(TM) (prasterone), formerly known as
Aslera(TM) or GL701. Prestara is being developed by Genelabs and is
exclusively licensed to Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:WPI) in North
America.

The FDA stated that they completed their review of the Prestara NDA and it
is approvable. In Genelabs' Study GL95-02, a positive effect on bone
mineral density was observed in women with mild to moderate systemic lupus
erythematosus (SLE or lupus) while on low-dose glucocorticoids. Approval is
contingent upon the successful completion of an additional clinical trial
providing sufficient evidence to confirm this positive effect. In a
teleconference today with the FDA, the agency indicated that bone mineral
density should be the primary endpoint in this clinical trial which could
have a six-month treatment duration. Following this initial discussion,
Genelabs plans to have a formal meeting with the FDA as soon as possible to
finalize details of the clinical trial design and discuss the remaining
issues. Additional issues to be addressed in the approvable letter include,
among other things, submission of data for the qualification of a
manufacturing site.

"I am pleased that the FDA has concluded that the Prestara NDA is
approvable and that they have provided guidance that gives us confidence
that we can move forward expeditiously," stated Irene A. Chow, Ph.D.,
chairman and chief executive officer of Genelabs. "Bone mineral density
measurements are objective and have been well validated as endpoints in
other clinical trials. In our previous Study GL95-02, the group of patients
that received Prestara had increased bone mineral density while the group
that received placebo had reduced bone mineral density, and the difference
between the groups was statistically significant."

Background on Genelabs' bone mineral density findings

Genelabs' Study GL95-02, which enrolled 381 women with lupus who received
study medication for up to one year, contained a nested study of patients
whose bone mineral density was measured at both the initiation and
completion of the clinical trial. Thirty-seven of these patients were on
trial medication for a full year, were treated with glucocorticoids for at
least six months prior to the initiation of the trial, had a baseline bone
mineral density measurement and a post-treatment bone mineral density
measurement taken within one week of completion of the study. Data
regarding these patients were presented to the Arthritis Advisory Committee
in April 2001. In February 2002, we submitted additional analyses to the
FDA from Study GL95-02 and additional published studies conducted by
others. The GL95-02 analyses included all patients who had both baseline
and post-baseline measurements of bone mineral density. In the analyses of
GL95-02, mean bone mineral density of both the lumbar spine and hip
significantly increased in the group of patients treated with Prestara,
compared to decreases in the placebo group. The differences between groups
were statistically significant favoring Prestara at both the lumbar spine
(n=55, p=0.003) and hip (n=53, p=0.013).

"Musculoskeletal damage, including bone loss, is common among women with
lupus, particularly those receiving glucocorticoids," said Kenneth
Schwartz, M.D., vice president, medical affairs of Genelabs. "Early
intervention to limit bone loss is important in the long-term management of
lupus, and thus we believe Prestara can become a valuable addition for the
care of these patients."

About lupus

Lupus is a severe, chronic and frequently debilitating autoimmune disease
that can affect the lungs, heart, kidneys, skin, joints and musculoskeletal
and nervous systems. Scientific publications have reported that the most
common form of organ damage among lupus patients, musculoskeletal damage,
occurs in 22% of patients, followed by neuropsychiatric disorders in 20% of
lupus patients and renal disease in 15%. In the United States, there have
been no new drugs approved by the FDA for the treatment of lupus in more
than 40 years. Existing treatments for lupus are often inadequate, due to
limited benefits and severe adverse side effects. According to various
published estimates, lupus affects approximately 200,000 patients in the
United States, and Genelabs believes that there are at least one million
patients worldwide.

About Genelabs

Genelabs Technologies, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the
discovery and development of novel pharmaceutical products to improve human
health. We have built drug discovery and clinical development capabilities
that can support various research and development projects. We are
concentrating our capabilities on three core programs: developing a
late-stage product for lupus, discovering novel antimicrobial lead
compounds that target DNA, and discovering novel lead compounds that
selectively inhibit replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Through our
drug discovery efforts we have synthesized numerous DNA-binding
antibacterial and antifungal lead compounds, which are currently being
optimized, and are using high-throughput methods for the discovery of novel
lead compounds for HCV. Our clinical development efforts are concentrated
on Prestara(TM) for systemic lupus erythematosus.

NOTE: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including,
without limitation, the ability of Genelabs to design and complete an
additional clinical trial that meets the requirements of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA). These forward-looking statements are based on
Genelabs' current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and risks
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements
made. Uncertainties and risks include, without limitation, whether the
results of the company's clinical trials of Prestara(TM) and other
supporting information will be sufficient to support the approval of
Prestara(TM) by the FDA, the European Agency for Evaluation of Medicinal
Products and other regulatory authorities; delays regarding the regulatory
approval process including the timing and scope of approval received, if
any; uncertainties and risks regarding market acceptance of Prestara(TM) as
a treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus); the company's
capital requirements and history of operating losses; uncertainties and
risks regarding the company's ability to consummate strategic or corporate
partner transactions on favorable terms or at all; the early stage of
Genelabs' research programs and uncertainties associated with the
optimization of compounds, including whether a compound will advance to
preclinical testing, clinical trials, or ultimately become a product, and
the uncertainty of the timing of any of these; and the validity, scope and
enforceability of patents related to the company's technologies. The active
ingredient in Prestara(TM) is prasterone, the synthetic equivalent of the
androgenic hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Products containing DHEA
are currently being marketed by others as dietary supplements. The company
has not submitted applications for regulatory review of Prestara(TM)
outside the U.S. In addition, neither U.S. nor other regulatory authorities
have made a determination as to the safety or efficacy of Prestara(TM) for
SLE. Please see the information appearing in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K, under the captions
"Risk Factors," "Business Risks" and "Forward-Looking Statements" for more
discussion regarding these uncertainties and risks and others associated
with the company's research programs, early stage of development and other
risks which may affect the company. Genelabs does not undertake any
obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this release.