Cell Therapeutics Second Quarter Net Loss Decreases 54%; Pixantrone NDA Submitted to the FDA fo...( SEATTLE Aug. 6 /- C...)

SEATTLE, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (Nasdaq and MTA: CTIC) today reported recent achievements and financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2009.

"The second quarter of 2009 was a transforming quarter for the Company as we reported, in a peer reviewed setting, pixantrone phase III data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and completed the submission of the pixantrone New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)," said James A. Bianco, M.D., CEO of Cell Therapeutics. "On the financial front, we continue to reduce and control our operating expenses, eliminated 44.5% of our outstanding debt through exchange offers completed in June 2009, and raised significant capital to continue to advance pixantrone to market."

Recent Highlights

• Completed the submission of the pixantrone NDA to the FDA to treat relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). CTI requested priority review of the pixantrone NDA which, if granted, could lead to an approval decision from the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2009.
• Reduced outstanding debt by $52.9 million, representing 44.5% of outstanding debt, through exchange offers completed in June 2009, resulting in an estimated savings in future annual interest expense of approximately $3.3 million.
• Added to the Russell 3000(R), Russell 2000(R) and Russell Global(R) Indexes.
• Raised $43.8 million in gross proceeds in connection with financing transactions in the second quarter of 2009, and an additional $41.7 million in proceeds, net of underwriting discount, in connection with an underwritten offering of common stock and warrants in July 2009.
  

For the quarter ended June 30, 2009, total net operating expenses decreased approximat
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