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."