( Interim results in a randomized phase I...)Publication on Pixantrone Preclinical Studies Demonstrates Reduced,Cardiotoxicity Compared to Equiactive Doses of Doxorubicin and,Mitoxantrone,Health

SEATTLE, June 26, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) announced the publication of preclinical studies, which demonstrate that treatment with pixantrone (BBR 2778) resulted in minimal or no significant cardiotoxicity, while doxorubicin and mitoxantrone induced significant cardiac damage. The studies compared the cardiac side effects of equiactive doses of pixantrone to doxorubicin and mitoxantrone in mice pre-treated with a cardiotoxic dose of doxorubicin as well as in mice without prior treatment. The article was published in the June 2007 journal Investigational New Drugs.

"In preclinical hematological tumor models pixantrone showed higher effectiveness and minimal or lack of cardiotoxicity as compared to mitoxantrone or doxorubicin. The findings reported in this article strongly support the clinical potential of pixantrone as a replacement for currently marketed anthracyclines. We hope our randomized phase II/III RAPID (PIX203) study in first-line aggressive NHL will confirm these preclinical results in patients and possibly diminish the most serious side effect associated with current standard treatments -- irreversible heart damage," said Gabriella Pezzoni, Ph.D., Scientific Director at Cell Therapeutics Europe S.r.l. (Milan).

In spite of their dose-dependent cardiotoxic effects, anthracyclines are still considered the standard of care because of their efficacy in several tumor types, including breast cancer, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Because of the irreversible nature of the cardiac damage that accompanies the use of currently marketed anthracyclines, patients who are treated with these agents are subject to a maximum cumulative life-time dose, which may result in premature discontinuation of therapy and limit the physician's ability to use this active class of a
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