SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

                                 Date of Report
               (Date of earliest event reported): February 4, 2003

                           ARIAD PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
             ------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


          Delaware                      0-21696                22-3106987
- ----------------------------  ------------------------    -------------------
(State or Other Jurisdiction  (Commission File Number)     (I.R.S. Employer
     of Incorporation)                                    Identification No.)


                              26 LANDSDOWNE STREET
                         CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139
              (Address of principal executive offices and zip code)


              Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
                                 (617) 494-0400




ITEM 5.    OTHER EVENTS

           On February 4, 2003, the Registrant disseminated a Press Release
           announcing that it has entered into a non-exclusive license agreement
           with GPC Biotech AG, which gives GPC Biotech AG the right to use
           ARIAD's proprietary ARGENT(TM) cell-signaling regulation technology
           in GPC's proprietary LeadCode(TM) drug discovery and Reverse
           Genomics(TM) platform.

           The information contained in the Press Release dated February 4,
           2003, is incorporated herein by reference and attached as Exhibit
           99.1 hereto.

ITEM 7.    FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS.


           (c)    Exhibits.

                  99.1    The Registrant's Press Release dated February 4, 2003.



                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                             ARIAD PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.



                                             By:    /s/ Edward M. Fitzgerald
                                                    ------------------------
                                                    Edward M. Fitzgerald
                                                    Senior Vice President and
                                                      Chief Financial Officer


Date:    February 4, 2003








                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
                                  -------------

Exhibit
Number        Description                             Sequential Page Number
- -------       -----------                             ----------------------

99.1          The Registrant's Press Release                     4
              dated February 4, 2003.




                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1



               ARIAD Licenses Its ARGENT Cell-Signaling
                 Regulation Technology to GPC Biotech

   CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2003--ARIAD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) today announced a non-exclusive
license agreement with GPC Biotech AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: GPC)
that gives GPC Biotech the right to use ARIAD's proprietary ARGENT(TM)
cell-signaling regulation technology in GPC's proprietary LeadCode(TM)
drug discovery and Reverse Genomics(TM) platform. ARIAD will receive
guaranteed license fees of $2 million, including $1 million upon
signing. GPC Biotech will use ARIAD's technology both in its internal
drug discovery efforts and in partnerships with pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies.
   GPC Biotech will pay ARIAD a percentage of revenues received by
GPC from its partnerships utilizing the LeadCode three-hybrid
technology platform. GPC's first pharmaceutical alliance based on its
LeadCode technology was announced on January 31, 2003 with Eli Lilly
and Company.
   Furthermore, GPC Biotech will make development and
commercialization milestone payments and royalty payments to ARIAD
based on GPC products resulting from the use of the licensed ARIAD
technology in GPC's internal drug discovery programs.
   "Our agreement with GPC Biotech represents the first major
revenue-generating license of our ARGENT cell-signaling regulation
technology and highlights the value of our intellectual property
portfolio in drug discovery and genomics. This license enables GPC to
expand one of its core programs and allows ARIAD to share in GPC's
successful commercialization of the technology," said Harvey J.
Berger, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of ARIAD. "Several
other leading biotechnology companies are also conducting
collaborative studies of our cell-signaling regulation technology
outside of GPC's technology platform."
   ARIAD is engaged in the discovery and development of breakthrough
medicines that regulate cell signaling with small molecules. The
Company is developing a comprehensive approach to the treatment of
cancer and blood diseases and has seven product candidates in
development. ARIAD also has an exclusive license to pioneering
technology and patents related to the discovery, development and use
of drugs that regulate NF-(kappa)B cell-signaling activity, which has
been implicated in many major diseases.
   Additional information about ARIAD can be found on the web at
http://www.ariad.com.
   GPC Biotech AG is a biotechnology company dedicated to discovering
and developing new anticancer drugs through innovative discovery
technologies and development approaches. GPC's lead product candidate
- -- satraplatin -- has successfully completed Phase 2 clinical trials
and is expected to enter Phase 3 registrational studies during 2003.
GPC is leveraging its drug discovery technologies in novel ways to
elucidate the mechanisms-of-action of drug candidates and to support
the growth of its drug pipeline. Drug discovery and development
partners include: ALTANA Pharma of ALTANA AG, Aventis Pharma,
Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company,
MorphoSys AG, PanTherix Ltd., and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. GPC
Biotech AG is headquartered in Martinsried/Munich (Germany). GPC's
wholly owned U.S. subsidiary has research sites in Waltham,
Massachusetts and Princeton, New Jersey.
   Additional information about GPC can be found on the web at
http://www.gpc-biotech.com.

   Some of the matters discussed herein are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are identified by the use of words
such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend,"
"plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in
connection with any discussion of future operating or financial
performance. Such statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcome of events, timing
and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not
limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding ARIAD's ability to
conduct preclinical and clinical studies of its product candidates and
the results of such studies, regulatory oversight, intellectual
property claims, the timing, scope, cost and outcome of legal
proceedings, future capital needs, key employees, dependence on
ARIAD's collaborators and manufacturers, markets, economic conditions,
products, services, prices, reimbursement rates, competition and other
risks detailed in the Company's public filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including ARIAD's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001. The information contained in
this document is believed to be current as of the date of original
issue. ARIAD does not intend to update any of the forward-looking
statements after the date of this document to conform these statements
to actual results or to changes in ARIAD's expectations, except as
required by law.

    CONTACT: ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
             Tom Pearson, 610/407-9260
             or
             Kathy Lawton, 617/621-2345