MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChemoCentryx, Inc. (CCXI) announced today a privately negotiated transfer of 749,999 shares of the Company's common stock between two current stockholders. In connection with this transfer, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc., the lead book-running managers in the Company's recent initial public offering of 5.175 million shares of common stock, are waiving the lock-up restriction on those shares which will take effect on May 30, 2012.  The purchaser of such shares has agreed with the transferor not to sell or otherwise transfer or dispose of such shares for a period of six months following its acquisition.

This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

ABOUT CHEMOCENTRYX

ChemoCentryx, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine and chemoattractant systems in order to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. The chemokine system is a biological network that regulates inflammation via a collection of secreted chemokine molecules, or ligands, and their specific cell surface receptors. Based on its proprietary drug discovery and drug development platform, ChemoCentryx has generated multiple clinical and preclinical-stage programs, each targeting distinct chemokine and chemoattractant receptors with different small molecule compounds. ChemoCentryx's most advanced drug candidate, vercirnon (also known as Traficet-EN, CCX282, GSK1605786 or GSK'786), a specific CCR9 inhibitor, completed a multi-national clinical trial, called PROTECT-1, in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease, where it demonstrated the ability to induce a clinical response and to maintain clinical remission, and is now in Phase III clinical development. ChemoCentryx's lead independent drug candidate, CCX140, a CCR2 inhibitor, has been shown to be safe and well tolerated while demonstrating clinical activity on glycemic indices in a Phase II clinical trial in type 2 diabetics, and is now in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Other clinical programs include CCX354, a CCR1 inhibitor which successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and CCX168, a C5aR inhibitor in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. ChemoCentryx also has several programs in advanced preclinical development.

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CONTACT: Susan M. Kanaya
         Senior Vice President, Finance and
         Chief Financial Officer or
         Markus J. Cappel, Ph.D.
         Chief Business Officer
         650-210-2900
         investor@chemocentryx.com
         
         Burns McClellan
         Media Inquiries
         Justin Jackson
         212-213-0006
         jjackson@burnsmc.com