Low Occurrence of Severe Cardiac Side Effects Despite Extensive Prior Doxorubicin Treatment Reported in Pixantrone Piv...(pcoming American Society of Clinical Onc...)

In April 2009, CTI began a rolling submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pixantrone to treat relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). CTI expects to complete the submission this quarter and will request priority review, which if granted could lead to an approval decision from the FDA in Q4 2009.

Pixantrone is also now available in Europe on a named-patient basis.

About Pixantrone

Pixantrone (BBR 2778), is a novel major groove binder with an aza-anthracenedione molecular structure that differentiates it from the anthracyclines and other related chemotherapy agents. Anthracyclines are the cornerstone therapeutic for the treatment of lymphoma, leukemia, and breast cancer. Although they are sufficiently effective to be used as first-line (initial) treatment, they cause cumulative heart damage that may result in congestive heart failure many years later. As a result, there is a lifetime limit of anthracycline doses and most patients who previously have been treated with an anthracycline are not able to receive further anthracycline treatment if their disease returns. Pixantrone has been designed to reduce the potential for these severe cardiotoxicities without sacrificing anti-cancer activity. It also can be administered through a peripheral vein rather than a central implanted catheter as required for other drugs in this class.

About Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

Headquartered in Seattle, CTI is a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing an integrated portfolio of oncology products aimed at making cancer more treatable. For additional information, please visit www.CellTherapeutics.com.'/>"/>