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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.03


                           GENELABS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

                          EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

        (Adopted by the Board of Directors on April 24, 1991) As Amended
                      February 11, 1994, September 20, 1995
                              and January 26, 1996


1.    ESTABLISHMENT OF PLAN

      Genelabs Technologies, Inc. (the "Company") proposes to grant options for
purchase of the Company's Common Stock (an "Offering") to eligible employees of
the Company and its Subsidiaries (as hereinafter defined) pursuant to this
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (this "Plan"). For purposes of this Plan, "Parent
Corporation" and "Subsidiary" (collectively, "Subsidiaries") shall have the same
meanings as "parent corporation" and "subsidiary corporation" in Sections 424(e)
and 424(f), respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
"Code"). The Company intends the Plan to qualify as an "employee stock purchase
plan" under Section 423 of the Code (including any amendments to or replacements
of such Section), and the Plan shall be so construed. Any term not expressly
defined in the Plan but defined for purposes of Section 423 of the Code shall
have the same definition herein. A total of 500,000 shares of the Company's
Common Stock are reserved for issuance under the Plan. Such number shall be
subject to adjustments effected in accordance with Section 14 of the Plan.

2.    PURPOSE

      The purpose of the Plan is to provide employees of the Company and
Subsidiaries designated by the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board")
as eligible to participate in the Plan with a convenient means of acquiring an
equity interest in the Company through payroll deductions, to enhance such
employees' sense of participation in the affairs of the Company and
Subsidiaries, and to provide an incentive for continued employment.

3.    ADMINISTRATION

      This plan may be administered by the Board or a committee appointed by the
Board (the "Committee"). If, at the time the Company registers under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), a majority of
the Board is not comprised of Disinterested Persons as defined in Rule 16b-3(d)
promulgated under the Exchange Act, the Board shall appoint a committee
consisting of not less than three (3) persons (who need not be members of the
Board), each of whom is a Disinterested Person. As used in this Plan, references
to the "Committee" shall mean either such committee or the Board if no committee
has been established. After registration of the Company under the Exchange Act,
Board members who are not Disinterested Persons may not vote on any matters
affecting the administration of this Plan, but any such member may be counted
for determining the existence of a quorum at any meeting of the Board. Subject
to the provisions of the Plan and 




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the limitations of Section 423 of the Code or any successor provision in the
Code, all questions of interpretation or application of the Plan shall be
determined by the Board and its decisions shall be final and binding upon all
participants. Members of the Board shall receive no compensation for their
services in connection with the administration of the Plan, other than standard
fees as established from time to time by the Board for services rendered by
Board members serving on Board committees. All expenses incurred in connection
with the administration of the Plan shall be paid by the Company.

4.    ELIGIBILITY

      Any employee of the Company or the Subsidiaries is eligible to participate
in an Offering Period (as hereinafter defined) under the Plan except the
following:

      (a)   employees who are not employed by the Company or Subsidiaries
on the fifteenth (15th) day of the month before the beginning of such
Offering Period;

      (b)   employees who are customarily employed for less than 20 hours
per week;

      (c)   employees who are customarily employed for less than 5 months
in a calendar year;

      (d) employees who, together with any other person whose stock would be
attributed to such employee pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code, own stock or
hold options to purchase stock or who, as a result of being granted an option
under the Plan with respect to such Offering Period, would own stock or hold
options to purchase stock possessing 5 percent or more of the total combined
voting power or value of all classes of stock of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries.

5.    OFFERING DATES

      The Offering Periods of the Plan (the "Offering Period") shall be of
twenty-four (24) months duration commencing on January 2 and July 2 of each year
and ending on July 1 and January 1 of each year. Each Offering Period shall
consist of four (4) six-month purchase periods (individually, a "Purchase
Period") during which payroll deductions of the participants are accumulated
under the Plan. The first business day of each Offering Period is referred to as
the "Offering Date". The last business day of each Offering Period is referred
to as the "Purchase Date". Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the fair market
value of the Company's Common Stock on any Purchase Date is less than it was on
an Offering Date, then the Offering Period (s) for such Offering Date(s) shall
immediately terminate and a new Offering Period shall commence for those
employees participating in such terminated Offerings (See also Section 11(c)
below). The Board shall have the power to change the duration of Offering
Periods or Purchase Periods with respect to offerings without shareholder
approval if such change is announced at least fifteen (15) days prior to the
scheduled beginning of the first Offering Period or Purchase Period to be
affected.



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6.    PARTICIPATION IN THE PLAN

      Eligible employees may become participants in an Offering Period under the
Plan upon the commencement of the next Purchase Period after satisfying the
eligibility requirements by delivering a subscription agreement to the Company's
or Subsidiary's (whichever employs such employee) Treasury Department (the
"Treasury Department") not later than the 15th day of the month before such
Purchase Period begins unless a later time for filing the subscription agreement
authorizing payroll deductions is set by the Board for all eligible employees
with respect to a given Purchase Period. An eligible employee who does not
deliver a subscription agreement to the Treasury Department by such date after
becoming eligible to participate in such Purchase Period shall not participate
in that Purchase Period or any subsequent Purchase Period unless such employee
enrolls in the Plan by filing a subscription agreement with the Treasury
Department not later than the 15th day of the month preceding the beginning of a
subsequent Purchase Period. Once an employee becomes a participant in a Purchase
Period, such employee will automatically participate in the next Purchase Period
unless the employee withdraws from the Plan or terminates further participation
in the Purchase Period as set forth in Section 11 below. Such participant is not
required to file any additional subscription agreement in order to continue
participation in the Plan.

7.    GRANT OF OPTION ON ENROLLMENT

      Enrollment by an eligible employee in the Plan with respect to an Offering
Period will constitute the grant (as of the Offering Date) by the Company to
such employee of an option to purchase on the Purchase Date up to that number of
shares of Common Stock of the Company determined by dividing the amount
accumulated in such employee's payroll deduction account during such Purchase
Period by the lower of (i) eighty-five percent (85%) of the fair market value of
a share of the Company's Common Stock on the Offering Date (the "Entry Price")
or (ii) eighty-five percent (85%) of the fair market value of a share of the
Company's Common Stock on the Purchase Date; provided, however, that the number
of shares of the Company's Common Stock subject to any option granted pursuant
to this Plan shall not exceed the lesser of (a) the maximum number of shares set
by the Board pursuant to Section 10(c) below with respect to the applicable
Purchase Period, or (b) the maximum number of shares which may be purchased
pursuant to Section 10(b) below with respect to the applicable Purchase Period.
Fair market value of a share of the Company's Common Stock shall be determined
as provided in Section 8 hereof.

8.    PURCHASE PRICE

      The purchase price per share at which a share of Common Stock will be sold
during any Offering Period shall be 85 percent of the lesser of:

      (a)   The fair market value on the Offering Date; or

      (b)   The fair market value on the Purchase Date.



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      For purposes of the Plan, the term "fair market value" on a given date
shall mean the closing price from the previous day's trading of a share of the
Company's Common Stock as reported on The Nasdaq National Market.

9.    PAYMENT OF PURCHASE PRICE; CHANGES IN PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS; ISSUANCE OF 
      SHARES

      (a) The purchase price of the shares is accumulated by regular payroll
deductions made during each Purchase Period. The deductions are made as a
percentage of the participant's compensation in one percent increments not less
than 2 percent nor greater than 10 percent, not to exceed $25,000 per year or
such other limit set by the Committee. Compensation shall mean all W-2
compensation, including, but not limited to base salary, wages, commissions,
overtime, shift premiums and bonuses, plus draws against commissions; provided,
however, that for purposes of determining a participant's compensation, any
election by such participant to reduce his or her regular cash remuneration
under Sections 125 or 401(k) of the Code shall be treated as if the participant
did not make such election. Payroll deductions shall commence on the first
payday following the Offering Date and shall continue to the end of the Purchase
Period unless sooner altered or terminated as provided in the Plan.

      (b) A participant may lower (but not increase) the rate of payroll
deductions during a Purchase Period by filing with the Treasury Department a new
authorization for payroll deductions, in which case the new rate shall become
effective for the next payroll period commencing more than 15 days after the
Treasury Department's receipt of the authorization and shall continue for the
remainder of the Purchase Period unless changed as described below. Such change
in the rate of payroll deductions may be made at any time during a Purchase
Period, but not more than one change may be made effective during any Purchase
Period. A participant may increase or decrease the rate of payroll deductions
for any subsequent Purchase Period by filing with the Treasury Department a new
authorization for payroll deductions not later than the 15th day of the month
before the beginning of such Purchase Period. An increase or decrease in your
payroll deduction does not start a new Offering Period.

      (c) All payroll deductions made for a participant are credited to his or
her account under the Plan and are deposited with the general funds of the
Company. No interest accrues on the payroll deductions. All payroll deductions
received or held by the Company may be used by the Company for any corporate
purposes, and the Company shall not be obligated to segregate such payroll
deductions.

      (d) On each Purchase Date, so long as the Plan remains in effect and
provided that the participant has not submitted a signed and completed
withdrawal form before that date which notifies the Company that the participant
wishes to withdraw from that Purchase Period under the Plan and have all payroll
deductions accumulated in the account maintained on behalf of the participant as
of that date returned to the participant, the Company shall apply the funds then
in the participant's account to the purchase of whole shares of Common 



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Stock reserved under the option granted to such participant with respect to the
Purchase Period to the extent that such option is exercisable on the Purchase
Date. The purchase price per share shall be as specified in Section 8 of the
Plan. Any cash remaining in a participant's account after such purchase of
shares shall be refunded to such participant in cash, without interest;
provided, however, that any amount remaining in such participant's account on a
Purchase Date which is less than the amount necessary to purchase a full share
of Common Stock of the Company shall be carried forward, without interest, into
the next Purchase Period. In the event that the Plan has been oversubscribed,
all funds not used to purchase shares on the Purchase Date shall be returned to
the participant, without interest. No Common Stock shall be purchased on a
Purchase Date on behalf of any employee whose participation in the Plan has
terminated prior to such Purchase Date.

      (e) As promptly as practicable after the Purchase Date, the Company shall
arrange the delivery to each participant of a certificate representing the
shares purchased upon exercise of his option; provided that the Board may
deliver certificates to a broker or brokers that hold such certificate in a
street name for the benefit of each such participant.

      (f) During a participant's lifetime, such participant's option to purchase
shares hereunder is exercisable only by him or her. The participant will have no
interest or voting right in shares covered by his or her option until such
option has been exercised. Shares to be delivered to a participant under the
Plan will be registered in the name of the participant or in the name of the
participant and his or her spouse.

10.   LIMITATIONS ON SHARES TO BE PURCHASED

      (a) No employee shall be entitled to purchase stock under the Plan at a
rate which, when aggregated with his or her rights to purchase stock under all
other employee stock purchase plans of the Company or any Subsidiary, exceeds
$25,000 in fair market value, determined as of the Offering Date (or such other
limit as may be imposed by the Code) for each calendar year in which the
employee participates in the Plan.

      (b) No more than 200% of the number of shares determined by using 85% of
the fair market value of a share of the Company's Common Stock on the Offering
Date as the denominator may be purchased by a participant on any single Purchase
Date.

      (c) No employee shall be entitled to purchase more than the Maximum Share
Amount (as defined below) on any single Purchase Date. Not less than thirty days
prior to the commencement of any Purchase Period, the Board may, in its sole
discretion, set a maximum number of shares which may be purchased by any
employee at any single Purchase Date (hereinafter the "Maximum Share Amount").
In no event shall the Maximum Share Amount exceed the amounts permitted under
Section 10(b) above. If a new Maximum Share Amount is set, then all participants
must be notified of such Maximum Share Amount not less than fifteen days prior
to the commencement of the next Purchase Period. Once the Maximum Share Amount
is set, it shall continue to apply with respect to all succeeding Purchase Dates
and Purchase Periods unless revised by the Board as set forth above.



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      (d) If the number of shares to be purchased on a Purchase Date by all
employees participating in the Plan exceeds the number of shares then available
for issuance under the Plan, the Company will make a pro rata allocation of the
remaining shares in as uniform a manner as shall be practicable and as the Board
shall determine to be equitable. In such event, the Company shall give written
notice of such reduction of the number of shares to be purchased under a
participant's option to each participant affected thereby.

      (e) Any payroll deductions accumulated in a participant's account which
are not used to purchase stock due to the limitations in this Section 10 shall
be returned to the participant as soon as practicable after the end of the
Purchase Period, without interest.

11.   WITHDRAWAL

      (a) Each participant may withdraw from a Purchase Period under the Plan by
signing and delivering to the Treasury Department notice on a form provided for
such purpose. Such withdrawal may be elected at any time at least 15 days prior
to the end of a Purchase Period.

      (b) Upon withdrawal from the Plan, the accumulated payroll deductions
shall be returned to the withdrawn participant, without interest, and his or her
interest in the Plan shall terminate. In the event a participant voluntarily
elects to withdraw from the Plan, he or she may not resume his or her
participation in the Plan during the same Purchase Period, but he or she may
participate in any Purchase Period under the Plan which commences on a date
subsequent to such withdrawal by filing a new authorization for payroll
deductions in the same manner as set forth above for initial participation in
the Plan.

      (c) For an Offering Period in which a participant is enrolled, if the fair
market value of the Company's Common Stock on the Purchase Date is less than it
was on the Offering Date, the Company will automatically enroll such participant
in the subsequent Offering Period. A participant does not need to file any forms
with the Company to automatically be enrolled in the subsequent Offering Period.

12.   TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

      Termination of a participant's employment for any reason, including
retirement, death or the failure of a participant to remain an eligible
employee, immediately terminates his or her participation in the Plan. In such
event, the payroll deductions credited to the participant's account will be
returned to him or her or, in the case of his or her death, to his or her legal
representative, without interest. For purposes of this Section 12, an employee
will not be deemed to have terminated employment or failed to remain in the
continuous employ of the Company in the case of sick leave, military leave, or
any other leave of absence approved by the Board; provided that such leave is
for a period of not more than ninety (90) days or reemployment upon the
expiration of such leave is guaranteed by contract or statute.



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13.   RETURN OF PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS

      In the event a participant's interest in the Plan is terminated by
withdrawal, termination of employment or otherwise, or in the event the Plan is
terminated by the Board, the Company shall promptly deliver to the participant
all payroll deductions credited to his account. No interest shall accrue on the
payroll deductions of a participant in the Plan.

14.   CAPITAL CHANGES

      Subject to any required action by the shareholders of the Company, the
number of shares of Common Stock covered by each option under the Plan which has
not yet been exercised and the number of shares of Common Stock which have been
authorized for issuance under the Plan but have not yet been placed under option
(collectively, the "Reserves"), as well as the price per share of Common Stock
covered by each option under the Plan which has not yet been exercised, shall be
proportionately adjusted for any increase or decrease in the number of issued
shares of Common Stock resulting from a stock split or the payment of a stock
dividend (but only on the Common Stock) or any other increase or decrease in the
number of shares of Common Stock effected without receipt of consideration by
the Company; provided, however, that conversion of any convertible securities of
the Company shall not be deemed to have been "effected without receipt of
consideration." Such adjustment shall be made by the Board, whose determination
shall be final, binding and conclusive. Except as expressly provided herein, no
issue by the Company of shares of stock of any class, or securities convertible
into shares of stock of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason
thereof shall be made with respect to, the number or price of shares of Common
Stock subject to an option.

      In the event of the proposed dissolution or liquidation of the Company,
the Purchase Period will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such
proposed action, unless otherwise provided by the Board. The Board may, in the
exercise of its sole discretion in such instances, declare that the options
under the Plan shall terminate as of a date fixed by the Board and give each
participant the right to exercise his or her option as to all of the optioned
stock, including shares which would not otherwise be exercisable. In the event
of a proposed sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, or
the merger of the Company with or into another corporation, each option under
the Plan shall be assumed or an equivalent option shall be substituted by such
successor corporation or a parent or subsidiary of such successor corporation,
unless the Board determines, in the exercise of its sole discretion and in lieu
of such assumption or substitution, that the participant shall have the right to
exercise the option as to all of the optioned stock. If the Board makes an
option exercisable in lieu of assumption or substitution in the event of a
merger or sale of assets, the Board shall notify the participant that the option
shall be fully exercisable for a period of twenty (20) days from the date of
such notice, and the option will terminate upon the expiration of such period.

      The Board may, if it so determines in the exercise of its sole discretion,
also make provision for adjusting the Reserves, as well as the price per share
of Common Stock covered 



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by each outstanding option, in the event that the Company effects one or more
reorganizations, recapitalizations, rights offerings or other increases or
reductions of shares of its outstanding Common Stock, or in the event of the
Company being consolidated with or merged into any other corporation.

15.   NONASSIGNABILITY

      Neither payroll deductions credited to a participant's account nor any
rights with regard to the exercise of an option or to receive shares under the
Plan may be assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise disposed of in any way
(other than by will, the laws of descent and distribution or as provided in
Section 22 hereof) by the participant. Any such attempt at assignment, transfer,
pledge or other disposition shall be without effect.

16.   REPORTS

      Individual accounts will be maintained for each participant in the Plan.
Each participant shall receive promptly after the end of each Purchase Period a
report of his account setting forth the total payroll deductions accumulated,
the number of shares purchased, the per share price thereof and the remaining
cash balance, if any, carried forward to the next Purchase Period.

17.   NOTICE OF DISPOSITION

      Each participant shall notify the Company if the participant disposes of
any of the shares purchased in any Purchase Period pursuant to this Plan if such
disposition occurs within two years from the Offering Date or within one year
from the Purchase Date on which such shares were purchased (the "Notice
Period"). Unless such participant is disposing of any of such shares during the
Notice Period, such participant shall keep the certificates representing such
shares in his or her name (and not in the name of a nominee) during the Notice
Period. The Company may, at any time during the Notice Period, place a legend or
legends on any certificate representing shares acquired pursuant to the Plan
requesting the Company's transfer agent to notify the Company of any transfer of
the shares. The obligation of the participant to provide such notice shall
continue notwithstanding the placement of any such legend on the certificates.

18.   NO RIGHTS TO CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT

      Neither this Plan nor the grant of any option hereunder shall confer any
right on any employee to remain in the employ of the Company or any Subsidiary,
or restrict the right of the Company or any Subsidiary to terminate such
employee's employment.

19.   EQUAL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

      All eligible employees shall have equal rights and privileges with respect
to the Plan so that the Plan qualifies as an "employee stock purchase plan"
within the meaning of Section 423 or any successor provision of the Code and the
related regulations. Any provision of the 



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Plan which is inconsistent with Section 423 or any successor provision of the
Code shall, without further act or amendment by the Company or the Board, be
reformed to comply with the requirements of Section 423. This Section 19 shall
take precedence over all other provisions in the Plan.

20.   NOTICES

      All notices or other communications by a participant to the Company under
or in connection with the Plan shall be deemed to have been duly given when
received in the form specified by the Company at the location, or by the person,
designated by the Company for the receipt thereof.

21.   SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS

      Any required approval by the shareholders of the Company shall be
solicited substantially in accordance with Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act,
and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Such approval of an
amendment shall be solicited at or prior to the first annual meeting of
shareholders held subsequent to the grant of an option under the Plan to an
employee of the Company. If such shareholder approval is obtained at a duly held
shareholders' meeting, it must be obtained by a majority of all of the
outstanding shares of the Company, or if such shareholder approval is obtained
by written consent, it must be obtained by a majority of all shareholders of the
Company; provided, however, that approval at a meeting or by written consent may
be obtained by a lesser degree of shareholder approval if the Board determines,
in its discretion after consultation with the Company's legal counsel, that such
lesser degree of shareholder approval will comply with all applicable laws and
will not adversely affect the qualification of the Plan under Section 423 of the
Code or Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act ("Rule 16b-3").

22.   DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARY

      (a) A participant may file a written designation of a beneficiary who is
to receive any shares and cash, if any, from the participant's account under the
Plan in the event of such participant's death subsequent to the end of a
Purchase Period but prior to delivery to him or her of such shares and cash. In
addition, a participant may file a written designation of a beneficiary who is
to receive any cash from the participant's account under the Plan in the event
of such participant's death prior to a Purchase Date.

      (b) Such designation of beneficiary may be changed by the participant at
any time by written notice. In the event of the death of a participant and in
the absence of a beneficiary validly designated under the Plan who is living at
the time of such participant's death, the Company shall deliver such shares or
cash to the executor or administrator of the estate of the participant, or if no
such executor or administrator has been appointed (to the knowledge of the
Company), the Company, in its discretion, may deliver such shares or cash to the
spouse or to any one or more dependents or relatives of the participant, or if
no spouse, dependent or relative is known to the Company, then to such other
person as the Company may designate.



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23.   CONDITIONS UPON ISSUANCE OF SHARES; LIMITATION ON SALE OF SHARES

      Shares shall not be issued with respect to an option unless the exercise
of such option and the issuance and delivery of such shares pursuant thereto
shall comply with all applicable provisions of law, domestic or foreign,
including, without limitation, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder, and the requirements of any stock exchange upon which
the shares may then be listed, and shall be further subject to the approval of
counsel for the Company with respect to such compliance.

24.   APPLICABLE LAW

      The Plan shall be governed by the substantive laws (excluding the conflict
of laws rules) of the State of California.

25.   AMENDMENT OR TERMINATION OF THE PLAN

      This Plan shall be effective July 1, 1991, subject to approval by the
shareholders of the Company within twelve (12) months after the date the Plan is
adopted by the Board and the Plan shall continue until the earlier to occur of
termination by the Board, issuance of all of the shares of Common Stock reserved
for issuance under the Plan, or ten (10) years from the adoption of the Plan by
the Board. No purchase of shares pursuant to the Plan shall occur prior to such
shareholder approval. The Board may at any time amend or terminate the Plan,
except that any such termination cannot affect options previously granted under
the Plan, nor may any amendment make any change in an option previously granted
which would adversely affect the right of any participant, nor may any amendment
be made without approval of the shareholders of the Company obtained in
accordance with Section 21 hereof within 12 months of the adoption of such
amendment (or earlier if required by Section 21) if such amendment would:

      (a)   increase the number of shares that may be issued under the
Plan;

      (b)   change the designation of the employees (or class of
employees) eligible for participation in the Plan; or

      (c) constitute an amendment for which shareholder approval is required in
order to comply with Rule 16b-3 (or any successor rule) of the Exchange Act.




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