PRESS RELEASE DATED OCTOBER 24, 2002

EXHIBIT 99.1



[EXEGENICS LOGO]


CONTACT: WALISA M. DAVENPORT
EXEGENICS INC.
(214) 358-2000

E. BLAIR CLARK (INVESTORS), OR
KATHY JONES, PH.D. (MEDIA)
BURNS-MCCLELLAN
(212) 213-0006




EXEGENICS ANNOUNCES APPROVED TRANSFER

TO NASDAQ SMALLCAP MARKET

DALLAS, October 24, 2002-- eXegenics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEG), today announced that
its request to transfer from the Nasdaq National Market to the Nasdaq SmallCap
Market has been approved, effective October 25, 2002. The Company's securities
will continue trading under its current symbol: "EXEG."

"We are very pleased that our application to transfer to the Nasdaq SmallCap
Market has been accepted. Listing on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market enables us to
maintain trading on a well-regulated market for the benefit of all eXegenics
shareholders," said Ronald L. Goode, eXegenics' President and Chief Executive
Officer. "We continue to focus on the consummation of our proposed merger with
Innovative Drug Delivery Systems, Inc. so that together we may obtain and
commercialize drugs in later stages of clinical development."

Transferring to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market provides the Company with a grace
period until January 21, 2003 to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Stock
Market's $1.00 minimum bid price requirement. In the event the Company does not
meet the minimum bid price requirement by January 21, 2003, Nasdaq can grant the
Company an additional 180-day grace period to regain compliance if it meets the
"core" initial listing standards for the Nasdaq SmallCap Market as of that date,
principally, a $5 million stockholder's equity requirement. If a company that
has transitioned to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market so desires, generally it can
transition back to the Nasdaq National Market by meeting the $1.00 minimum bid
price requirement for 30 consecutive trading days during the grace periods and
complying with the other applicable National Market standards.

ABOUT EXEGENICS

eXegenics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEG) is a post-genomics drug creation enterprise
engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of cancers
and drug-resistant bacterial diseases. Employing Quantum Core Technology
(QCT(TM)), a suite of proprietary technologies, the Company's scientists create
novel small molecular weight 'core inhibitor' molecules of disease-causing
enzymes and proteins. These 'core inhibitor' candidate drug leads are optimized
into novel potential clinical drug candidates for further preclinical
development, after which they would be advanced towards clinical drug
development candidates and pharmaceutical products. The Company's other
proprietary research platform is Optimized Anti-Sense Inhibitory Sequence
(OASIS(TM)), which is used to create antisense molecules that can potentially be
developed into novel drugs. For more information, please visit
http://www.eXegenicsinc.com.




ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

We will be filing relevant documents concerning our proposed merger with the SEC
including a registration statement on Form S-4 containing a prospectus/proxy
statement. WE URGE INVESTORS TO READ THESE DOCUMENTS BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN
IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors will be able to obtain the prospectus/proxy
statement and other documents that will be filed by eXegenics and IDDS with the
SEC free of charge at the SEC's Web site (http://www.sec.gov) or by directing a
request after such a filing is made to eXegenics Inc., 2110 Research Row,
Dallas, Texas 75235, Attn: President, telephone (214) 358-2000.

eXegenics and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed
merger. Information about our directors and executive officers and their
ownership of our voting securities is set forth in the proxy statement for our
2002 annual meeting of stockholders as filed with the SEC on April 16, 2002.
Additional information about the interests of those participants may be obtained
from reading the definitive proxy statement regarding the proposed transaction
when it becomes available.

SAFE HARBOR

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements are valid
only as of today, and we disclaim any obligation to update this information.
These statements, which include, but are not limited to, the successful
completion of our proposed merger and the benefits expected to be derived
therefrom, are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may
cause actual future experience and results to differ materially from the
statements made. These statements are based on our current beliefs and
expectations as to such future outcomes. Drug discovery and development involve
a high degree of risk. Factors that might cause such a material difference
include, among others, uncertainties related to the ability to attract and
retain partners for our technologies, the identification of lead compounds, the
successful pre-clinical development thereof, the completion of clinical trials,
the FDA review process and other governmental regulation, our pharmaceutical
collaborator's ability to successfully develop and commercialize drug
candidates, competition from other pharmaceutical companies, product pricing and
third party reimbursement, and other factors described in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.