Antisoma PLC To Acquire Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. For USD $52.2M

London, UK, May 16, 2008 - (ABN Newswire) - London, UK, and Boston, MA: 16 May 2008 Cancer-focused biotechnology company Antisoma plc (LSE: ASM; US OTC: ATSMY) today announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire private US oncology company Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in an all-share deal valued at GBP 26.8 million (USD 52.2 million). Simultaneously, Antisoma has executed a fundraising that will provide an additional GBP 20.9 million before expenses to the Enlarged Group.