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                                                                  EXHIBIT 10.27

November 20, 2001

James B. Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D.
30 Old Road
Weston, MA  02493

Dear Jim,

I am pleased to offer you the position of Chief Medical Officer at a starting
monthly exempt salary of $25,000.00, which is equivalent to $300,000.00
annually. As a member of our executive staff you will be eligible for an annual
performance based incentive of up to 25% of your base salary subject to Board
approval. You will report directly to William D. Huse, M.D., Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer and President.

In addition, after you have accepted our offer of employment, you will be
offered 200,000 stock options under the Company's Incentive Stock Option Plan,
which provides for vesting over a four-year period. You also will be eligible
for an annual performance based option grant at the discretion of the Board of
Directors.

Applied Molecular Evolution agrees to provide a loan of $400,000.00 at an annual
interest rate of 6% secured by the second deed of trust on the home you will be
purchasing upon your relocation to San Diego. Interest on the loan shall
cumulate and shall be payable with principal in four years from the date of
inception of the loan. This loan will be fully forgivable on the 4th year
anniversary of its inception, subject to your continued employment by AME.
Additionally, AME will pay to move your household goods and automobiles and give
you $20,000.00 in gross pretax dollars for miscellaneous moving expenses.

You will be authorized to continue your consulting relationship with Cleveland
Cancer Therapies, Collagenex, Inc., and Aton Pharma, Inc. Additionally, Applied
Molecular Evolution agrees in the event of terminating your employment for any
reason except cause, within four years of your start date, we will pay you
severance equivalent to six months of your base salary.

As an employee of Applied Molecular Evolution, you will receive employer-paid
medical, dental, life/AD&D, short and long-term disability insurance effective
your first date of employment. You will also be eligible to enroll in Applied
Molecular Evolution's 401(k) and Flexible Benefits and Employee Stock Purchase
plans during any enrollment period following employment.

As a pre-condition of your employment, you will be required to sign a copy of
our Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement. Two copies of this
agreement are attached for your review and signature. Please return both copies
and subsequently, one copy will be returned to you after they have been signed
by Applied Molecular Evolution's Chief Executive Officer. Also, it should be
noted that it is Applied Molecular Evolution's policy to respect fully
proprietary and/or confidential information of your previous employers. No
employee is expected to disclose, or is allowed to use for Applied Molecular
Evolution's purposes, any confidential or proprietary information he or she may
have acquired as a result of previous employment.

To conform with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, please bring
with you on your start date the original of either one of the documents noted in
List A, or one document from List B and one document from List C from the
Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9), (Attached).

Your employment with Applied Molecular Evolution will be at-will. In other
words, either you or Applied Molecular Evolution can terminate your employment
at any time for any reason, with or without cause and with or


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without notice. This term of employment is not subject to change or modification
of any kind except if in writing and signed by you and the Chief Executive
Officer of Applied Molecular Evolution.

I am pleased to extend this offer to you and look forward to your acceptance.
Please sign and return the attached copy of this offer letter as soon as
possible, but no later than November 26, 2001, at which time, it will expire.
Once signed by you, this letter will constitute the complete agreement between
you and the Company regarding employment matters and will supersede any and all
prior written or oral agreements or understanding on these matters.

I am confident that you will make significant contributions to Applied Molecular
Evolution's efforts and that you will enjoy the rewards of working for an
innovative, fast-paced company. I hope that you will join Applied Molecular
Evolution as a regular full-time employee by December 12, 2001. Finally, please
feel free to contact me, if you have any questions or concerns regarding any of
the above information and/or if you would like additional information on Applied
Molecular Evolution's benefit package.

Sincerely,


/s/ Lawrence E. Bloch
Lawrence E. Bloch, M.D.
Chief Financial Officer and
Vice President of Business Development




I accept your offer of employment extended to me on 11/20/01,


and will start my employment on 12/12/01



Signature: /s/ James B. Brietmeyer

Date:  11/24/01