Cell Therapeutics, Inc. Awarded $977,917 in Grants Under the Therapeutic Discovery Tax Credit Program

SEATTLE, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc. ("CTI") (Nasdaq and MTA: CTIC) today announced that it has been awarded $977,917 in grants under the Therapeutic Discovery Tax Credit program that was enacted under the U.S. government's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The program targets projects that show potential to produce new therapies, address unmet medical needs, reduce the long-term growth of health care costs and advance the goal of curing cancer. CTI was awarded the grants for CTI's programs pixantrone, OPAXIO, brostallicin and bisplatinates which are all focused in the area of oncology.

"We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognizes the potential impact that CTI's research and drugs could have for patients and specifically in advancing the effort to make cancer more treatable," said James A. Bianco, M.D., CEO of Cell Therapeutics. "This program is also recognition of the importance of the contribution the biotechnology industry is making to U.S. healthcare. These grants will allow CTI to further advance its product candidates in an effort to treat areas that have significant unmet medical needs."

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.

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This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, the outcome of which could materially and/or adversely affect actual future results and the market price of CTI's securities. Specifically, the risks and uncertainties associated with preclinical and clinical developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general, and CTI's ability to continue to raise capital as needed to fund its operations, competitive factors, technological developments, costs of developing, producing and selling its product candidates, that CTI cannot guarantee that its product candidates will produce new therapies, address unmet medical needs, reduce the long-term growth of health care costs or advance the goal of curing cancer, and the risk factors listed or described from time to time in CTI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, CTI's most recent filings on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. Except as may be required by law, CTI does not intend to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Cell Therapeutics, Inc.