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                                                                EXHIBIT 10.26



                             COR THERAPEUTICS, INC.



                 1994 NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS' STOCK OPTION PLAN

                         (ADOPTED ON JANUARY 21, 1994)

                   (APPROVED BY STOCKHOLDERS ON MAY 20, 1994)

                         (AMENDED ON JANUARY 24, 1997)





1.       PURPOSE.

         (a)     The purpose of the 1994 Non-Employee Directors' Stock Option
Plan (the "Plan") is to provide a means by which each director of COR
Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), who is not
otherwise an employee or a consultant of the Company or of any Affiliate of the
Company (each such person being hereafter referred to as a "Non-Employee
Director") will be given an opportunity to purchase stock of the Company.

         (b)     The word "Affiliate" as used in the Plan means any parent
corporation or subsidiary corporation of the Company as those terms are defined
in Sections 424(e) and (f), respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as amended from time to time (the "Code").

         (c)     The word "Fair Market Value" as used in the Plan means, as of
any date, the average of the high and low sales prices of a share of the
Company's Common Stock as quoted on the National Market System of the National
Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Automated Quotation System, on the last
market trading day prior to the day of determination, as reported in the Wall
Street Journal or such other source as the Board of Directors of the Company
(the "Board") deems reliable.

         (d)     The Company, by means of the Plan, seeks to retain the
services of persons now serving as Non-Employee Directors of the Company, to
secure and retain the services of persons capable of serving in such capacity,
and to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the
success of the Company.

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2.       ADMINISTRATION.

         (a)     The Plan shall be administered by the Board unless and until
the Board delegates administration to a committee, as provided in subparagraph
2(b).

         (b)     The Board may delegate administration of the Plan to a
committee composed of two (2) or more members of the Board (the "Committee"),
all of the members of which Committee may (but need not) be, in the discretion
of the Board, "non-employee directors" within the meaning of Rule 16b-3
promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act").  If administration is delegated to a Committee, the Committee
shall have, in connection with the administration of the Plan, the powers
theretofore possessed by the Board, subject, however, to such resolutions, not
inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as may be adopted from time to
time by the Board.  The Board may abolish the Committee at any time and revest
in the Board the administration of the Plan.

3.       SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.

         (a)     Subject to the provisions of paragraph 10 relating to
adjustments upon changes in stock, the stock that may be sold pursuant to
options granted under the Plan shall not exceed in the aggregate two hundred
thousand (200,000) shares of the Company's common stock.  If any option granted
under the Plan shall for any reason expire or otherwise terminate without
having been exercised in full, the stock not purchased under such option shall
again become available under the Plan.

         (b)     The stock subject to the Plan may be unissued shares or
reacquired shares, bought on the market or otherwise.

4.       ELIGIBILITY.

         (a)     Options shall be granted only to Non-Employee Directors of the
Company.





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5.       NON-DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.

         (a)     Upon the date of the approval of the Plan by the Board (the
"Adoption Date"), each person who is then a Non-Employee Director shall be
granted an option to purchase twenty-five thousand (25,000) shares of common
stock of the Company on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

         (b)     Each person who is, after the Adoption Date, elected for the
first time to be a Non-Employee Director shall, upon the date of his initial
election to be a Non-Employee Director by the Board or stockholders of the
Company, be granted an option to purchase twenty-five thousand (25,000) shares
of common stock of the Company on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

6.       OPTION PROVISIONS.

         Each option shall contain the following terms and conditions:

         (a)     The term of each option commences on the date it is granted
and, unless sooner terminated as set forth herein, expires on the date
("Expiration Date") ten (10) years from the date of grant.  If the optionee's
service as a Non-Employee Director of the Company terminates for any reason or
for no reason, the option shall terminate on the earlier of the Expiration Date
or the date three (3) months following the date of termination of service;
provided, however, that (i) if such termination is due to such person's
permanent and total disability, within the meaning of Section 422(c)(6) of the
Code, the option shall terminate on the earlier of the Expiration Date or
twelve (12) months following such termination; or (ii) if such termination of
service is due to the optionee's death, the option shall terminate on the
earlier of the Expiration Date or eighteen (18) months following the date of
the optionee's death.  In any and all circumstances, an option may be exercised
following termination of the optionee's service as a Director of the





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Company only as to that number of shares as to which it was exercisable on the
date of termination of such service under the provisions of subparagraph 6(e).

         (b)     The exercise price of each option shall be one hundred percent
(100%) of the Fair Market Value of the stock subject to such option on the date
such option is granted.

         (c)     Payment of the exercise price of each option is due in full in
cash upon any exercise when the number of shares being purchased upon such
exercise is less than one thousand (1,000) shares; but when the number of
shares being purchased upon an exercise is one thousand (1,000) or more shares,
the optionee may elect to make payment of the exercise price under one of the
following alternatives:

                      (i)         Payment of the exercise price per share in 
cash at the time of exercise; or

                      (ii)        Provided that at the time of the exercise the
Company's common stock is publicly traded and quoted regularly in the Wall
Street Journal, payment by delivery of shares of common stock of the Company
already owned by the optionee, held for the period required to avoid a charge
to the Company's reported earnings, and owned free and clear of any liens,
claims, encumbrances or security interest, which common stock shall be valued
at Fair Market Value on the date preceding the date of exercise; or
  
                     (iii)         Payment by a combination of the methods of
payment specified in subparagraph 6(c)(i) and 6(c)(ii) above; or

                      (iv)        Payment pursuant to a program developed under
Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board which results in the
receipt of cash (or check) by the Company prior to the issuance of shares of
the Company's common stock.





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         (d)     An option shall not be transferable except by will or by the
laws of descent and distribution or pursuant to a domestic relations order, and
shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the person to whom the option is
granted only by such person or by his guardian or legal representative, unless
otherwise specified in the option, in which case the option may be transferred
upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the option, as the Board or
the Committee shall determine in its discretion at the time of grant.  The
person to whom the option is granted may, by delivering written notice to the
Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, designate a third party who, in
the event of the death of the optionee, shall thereafter be entitled to
exercise the option.

         (e)     The option shall become exercisable in installments over a
period of sixty (60) months from the date of grant at the rate of four hundred
sixteen and two-thirds (416 2/3) shares per month in sixty (60) equal monthly
installments commencing on the date one month after the date of grant of the
option, provided that the optionee has, during the entire period prior to such
vesting date, continuously served as a Non-Employee Director of the Company,
whereupon such option shall become fully exercisable in accordance with its
terms with respect to that portion of the shares represented by that
installment.

         (f)     The Company may require any optionee, or any person to whom an
option is transferred under subparagraph 6(d), as a condition of exercising any
such option:  (i) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company as to
the optionee's knowledge and experience in financial and business matters; and
(ii) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company stating that such
person is acquiring the stock subject to the option for such person's own
account and not with any present intention of selling or otherwise distributing
the stock.  These requirements, and any assurances given pursuant to such
requirements, shall be inoperative if





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(i) the issuance of the shares upon the exercise of the option has been
registered under a then-currently-effective registration statement under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or (ii), as to any
particular requirement, a determination is made by counsel for the Company that
such requirement need not be met in the circumstances under the then-applicable
securities laws.  The Company may, upon advice of counsel to the Company, place
legends on stock certificates issued under the Plan as such counsel deems
necessary or appropriate in order to comply with applicable securities laws,
including, but not limited to, legends restricting the transfer of the stock.

         (g)     Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, an
option may not be exercised unless the shares issuable upon exercise of such
option are then registered under the Securities Act or, if such shares are not
then so registered, the Company has determined that such exercise and issuance
would be exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

7.       COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY.

         (a)     During the terms of the options granted under the Plan, the
Company shall keep available at all times the number of shares of stock
required to satisfy such options.

         (b)     The Company shall seek to obtain from each regulatory
commission or agency having jurisdiction over the Plan such authority as may be
required to issue and sell shares of stock upon exercise of the options granted
under the Plan; provided, however, that this undertaking shall not require the
Company to register under the Securities Act either the Plan, any option
granted under the Plan, or any stock issued or issuable pursuant to any such
option.  If, after reasonable efforts, the Company is unable to obtain from any
such regulatory





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commission or agency the authority which counsel for the Company deems
necessary for the lawful issuance and sale of stock under the Plan, the Company
shall be relieved from any liability for failure to issue and sell stock upon
exercise of such options.

8.       USE OF PROCEEDS FROM STOCK.

         Proceeds from the sale of stock pursuant to options granted under the
Plan shall constitute general funds of the Company.

9.       MISCELLANEOUS.

         (a)     Neither an optionee nor any person to whom an option is
transferred under subparagraph 6(d) shall be deemed to be the holder of, or to
have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any shares subject to such
option unless and until such person has satisfied all requirements for exercise
of the option pursuant to its terms.

         (b)     Throughout the term of any option granted pursuant to the
Plan, the Company shall make available to the holder of such option, not later
than one hundred twenty (120) days after the close of each of the Company's
fiscal years during the option term, upon request, such financial and other
information regarding the Company as comprises the annual report to the
stockholders of the Company provided for in the Bylaws of the Company and such
other information regarding the Company as the holder of such option may
reasonably request.

         (c)     Nothing in the Plan or in any instrument executed pursuant
thereto shall confer upon any Non-Employee Director any right to continue in
the service of the Company or any Affiliate or shall affect any right of the
Company, its Board or stockholders or any Affiliate to terminate the service of
any Non-Employee Director with or without cause.





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         (d)     No Non-Employee Director, individually or as a member of a
group, and no beneficiary or other person claiming under or through him, shall
have any right, title or interest in or to any option reserved for the purposes
of the Plan except as to such shares of common stock, if any, as shall have
been reserved for him pursuant to an option granted to him.

         (e)     In connection with each option granted pursuant to the Plan,
it shall be a condition precedent to the Company's obligation to issue or
transfer shares to a Non-Employee Director, or to evidence the removal of any
restrictions on transfer, that such Non-Employee Director make arrangements
satisfactory to the Company to insure that the amount of any federal or other
withholding tax required to be withheld with respect to such sale or transfer,
or such removal or lapse, is made available to the Company for timely payment
of such tax.

10.      ADJUSTMENTS UPON CHANGES IN STOCK.

         (a)     If any change is made in the stock subject to the Plan, or
subject to any option granted under the Plan (through merger, consolidation,
reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend, dividend in property other
than cash, stock split, liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange
of shares, change in corporate structure or otherwise), the Plan and
outstanding options will be appropriately adjusted in the class(es) and maximum
number of shares subject to the Plan and the class(es) and number of shares and
price per share of stock subject to outstanding options.

         (b)     In the event of:  (i) a merger or consolidation in which the
Company is not the surviving corporation; (ii) a reverse merger in which the
Company is the surviving corporation but the shares of the Company's common
stock outstanding immediately preceding the merger are converted by virtue of
the merger into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash





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or otherwise; or (iii) any other capital reorganization in which more than
fifty percent (50%) of the shares of the Company entitled to vote are exchanged
any surviving corporation, other than the Company, shall assume any options
outstanding under the Plan or shall substitute similar options for those
outstanding under the Plan or, if the Company is the surviving corporation,
such options shall continue in full force and effect.

11.      AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN.

         (a)     The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend the
Plan.  Except as provided in paragraph 10 relating to adjustments upon changes
in stock, no amendment shall be effective unless approved by the shareholders
of the Company to the extent shareholder approval is necessary for the Plan to
satisfy the requirements of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act or any Nasdaq or
securities exchange listing requirements.

                 (b)      Rights and obligations under any option granted
before any amendment of the Plan shall not be impaired by such amendment unless
(i) the Company requests the consent of the person to whom the option was
granted and (ii) such person consents in writing.

                 (C)      The Board at any time, and from time to time, may
amend the terms of any one or more Options; provided, however, that the rights
and obligations under any Option shall not be impaired by any such amendment
unless (i) the company requests the consent of the person to whom the Option
was granted and (ii) such person consults in writing.





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12.      TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF THE PLAN.

         (a)     The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time.
Unless sooner terminated, the Plan shall terminate on January 20, 2004.  No
options may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it
is terminated.

         (b)     Rights and obligations under any option granted while the Plan
is in effect shall not be altered or impaired by suspension or termination of
the Plan, except with the consent of the person to whom the option was granted.

         (c)     The Plan shall terminate upon the occurrence of any of the
events described in Section 10(b) above.

13.      EFFECTIVE DATE OF PLAN; CONDITIONS OF EXERCISE.

         (a)     The Plan shall become effective upon adoption by the Board of
Directors, subject to the condition subsequent that the Plan is approved by the
stockholders of the Company.

         (b)     No option granted under the Plan shall be exercised or
exercisable unless and until the condition of subparagraph 13(a) above has been
met.





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