Portola Pharmaceuticals Announces Release of Lock-

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTLA ) announced today that Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, the joint book-running managers in the Company's recent public sale of 9,686,171 shares of common stock, are releasing a lock-up restriction with respect to 95,962 shares of the Company's common stock held by a director of the Company. The release will take effect concurrently with the pricing of the proposed public offering under a registration statement on Form S-1 initially filed by the Company on October 7, 2013, for the purpose of allowing the director to sell those shares in the proposed public offering.

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.

Investor Contact: Alexandra Santos Portola Pharmaceuticals 650.246.7239 Media Contact: Joey Fleury BrewLife 415.946.1090