Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP Files Class Action Suit Against Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP ("Coughlin Stoia”) (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/cellthera/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. ("Cell Therapeutics ” or the "Company”) (NASDAQ: CTIC) between May 5, 2009 and February 8, 2010, inclusive (the "Class Period”), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act”).

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Coughlin Stoia at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@csgrr.com. If you are a member of this Class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.csgrr.com/cases/celltherapeutics/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Cell Therapeutics and certain of its officers and executives with violations of the Exchange Act. Cell Therapeutics develops, acquires, and commercializes oncology products for cancer treatment.

One of the products that the Company developed is pixantrone, a phase III trial product for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Company describes pixantrone as a "novel topoisomerase II inhibitor with an aza-anthracenedione molecular structure that differentiates it from the anthracyclines and other related chemotherapy agents.” The Company represents that pixantrone, unlike other anthracyclines, is not "cardiotoxic.”

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business and prospects. Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants failed to disclose: (a) that the Special Protocol Assessment ("SPA”) with the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA”) for pixantrone was invalidated in March 2008; (b) that the Company’s pixantrone study enrolled a large number of patients who did not suffer from aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; (c) that the Company’s pixantrone drug was cardiotoxic; and (d) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about pixantrone and its prospects.

On February 8, 2010, the FDA posted its assessment of pixantrone in advance of its February 10, 2010 advisory meeting. With regard to the regulatory history of pixantrone, the FDA Briefing Document stated, among other things, that the Company’s SPA was invalidated in March 2008 and that the Company’s pixantrone study results were not meeting the FDA’s standards for approval.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Cell Therapeutics during the Class Period (the "Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.

Coughlin Stoia, a 180-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm.