The News

Arsenic Trioxide Highlighted in Seven Presentations at European Hematology Association (EHA) Conference

10/06/2004

June 10, 2004 Geneva — Arsenic trioxide will be featured in seven presentations at the 9th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA). Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (NASDAQ and Nuovo Mercato: CTIC) markets TRISENOX® (arsenic trioxide) injection.
For a list of presentations at EHA, refer to the table below. To access a complete list of abstracts, refer to the conference website at http://www.ehaweb.org/.

TRISENOX® (ARSENIC TRIOXIDE) PRESENTATIONS
 

TRISENOX® (ARSENIC TRIOXIDE) PRESENTATIONS
DATE  TIME  ABSTRACT #  TITLE
Fri., June 11  5:00 PM  118  The influence of arsenic trioxide on the clonogenic capacity of bone marrow in patients with newly diagnosed chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukaemia (cml)
Fri., June 11  5:00 PM  093  Treatment of new cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) by arsenic trioxide
Fri., June 11  5:00 PM  085  Treatment of newly diagnosed patients with APL using intravenous arsenic trioxyde
Sat., June 12  5:15 PM  365  A phase I/II multicenter, safety and efficacy study of combination treatment with melphalan, arsenic and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) (MAC) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma
Sat., June 12  5:15 PM  522  Safety experience with TRISENOX (arsenic trioxide) injection
Sat., June 12  5:15 PM  467  TRISENOX (arsenic trioxide) in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS): Preliminary results of a phase I/II study
Sun., June 13  9:00 AM  801  Glutathione peroxidase activity and glutathione level in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma treated with arsenic trioxide

About TRISENOX®
TRISENOX® (arsenic trioxide) is marketed by Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (NASDAQ: CTIC). TRISENOX® was approved for marketing in 2000 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with relapsed or refractory Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL), a rare, life-threatening form of cancer of the blood. TRISENOX® was granted marketing authorization from the European Commission in March 2002. APL, one of eight subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), represents 10–15 percent of the more than 20,000 patients diagnosed with AML each year. TRISENOX® is currently being studied in more than 40 clinical trials in a variety of cancers. U.S. marketing approval for TRISENOX® was granted based on results from a U.S. multicenter study in which 40 relapsed APL patients were treated with TRISENOX® 0.15 mg/kg until bone marrow remission or a maximum of 60 days. Thirty-four patients (85 percent) achieved CR. When the results for these 40 patients were combined with those for the 12 patients in a pilot trial, an overall response rate of 87 percent was observed.

WARNING: TRISENOX® should be administered under the supervision of a physician who is experienced in the management of patients with acute leukemia. Some patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) treated with TRISENOX® have experienced APL differentiation syndrome – with symptoms similar to retinoic acid-acute promyelocytic leukemia (RA-APL) syndrome. Arsenic trioxide can cause QT prolongation (which can lead to torsade de pointes) and complete atrioventricular block.

The most common adverse events associated with TRISENOX® have been generally manageable, reversible and usually did not require interruption of therapy. These have included hypokalemia, hypermagnesemia, hyperglycemia and thrombocytopenia as reported in 13 percent of the patients (n=40). Abdominal pain, dyspnea, hypoxia, bone pain and neutropenia were reported in 10 percent of these patients, while arthralgia, febrile neutropenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation were reported in eight percent of patients.

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 http://www.cticseattle.com/.

This announcement includes forward-looking statements about preliminary data from clinical trials that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, the outcome of which could materially and/or adversely affect actual future results. Specifically, the risks and uncertainties that could affect the continued development of TRISENOX® include risks associated with preclinical and clinical developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general and with TRISENOX® in particular including, without limitation, the potential failure of TRISENOX® to continue to be safe and effective for the treatment of APL, or to prove safe and effective for treatment of multiple myeloma and MDS, determinations by regulatory, patent and administrative governmental authorities, competitive factors, technological developments, costs of developing, producing and selling TRISENOX®, and the risk factors listed or described from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the Company’s most recent filings on Forms 10-K, 8-K and 10-Q.

Investors
Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
Leah Grant
T: 206.282.7100
F: 206.272.4010
E: invest@ctiseattle.com
www.cticseattle.com/investors.htm

Media
Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
Candice Douglass
T: 206.272.4472
F: 206.272.4010
E: media@ctiseattle.com
www.cticseattle.com/media.htm
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (Europe)
Karl Hanks
T: 39 026 103 5807
F: 39 026 103 5601
E: karl.hanks@ctimilano.com