CTI first quarter net loss decreases 66% to $17.4 million

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. ("CTI" or the "Company") (NASDAQ and MTA: CTIC) today reported financial results and recent accomplishments for the first quarter of 2012.

First Quarter Financial Results

For the quarter ended March 31, 2012, total operating expenses were $18.1 million compared to $20.1 million for the same period in 2011. Net loss attributable to common shareholders decreased 66% to $17.4 million ($0.09 per share) for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 compared to a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $51.0 million ($0.35 per share) for the same period in 2011. The decrease in net loss attributable to CTI's common shareholders is primarily due to a decrease in deemed dividends and total operating expenses. CTI had approximately $27.4 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2012.

Recent Highlights

• In February 2012, the European Medicines Agency's ("EMA") Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use ("CHMP") granted a positive opinion for conditional approval of CTI's MAA for Pixuvri as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with multiple relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ("NHL").
• In April 2012, CTI entered into an agreement to acquire a highly selective JAK2 inhibitor, pacritinib, which is a phase 3 candidate for treating patients with myelofibrosis ("MF").

"With potential approval of our MAA for Pixuvri in the E.U. to treat adult patients with multiple relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and tosedostat gearing up to initiate a pivotal phase 3 trial in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia/myelodysplastic syndromes ("MDS") later this year, the agreement to acquire pacritinib, a highly selective JAK2 inhibitor, rounds out our novel late stage oncology drug portfolio placing us in a select group of biotech companies.  Our oncology drug portfolio now spans across a range of blood related cancers," stated James A. Bianco, M.D., CEO of CTI.