Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Receives Nearly $1 Million in Grants for Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Projects

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqGM: SPPI), a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in oncology, today announced that it has been awarded grants totaling $977,900 under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) Program administered under section 48D of the Internal Revenue Code.

"We are pleased to be awarded this grant for our drug development programs,” said Rajesh C. Shrotriya, MD, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. "We are proud that our scientific work bringing new treatment options for cancer and other unmet medical needs is being recognized. This source of funding will be used to advance our various drug development programs including RenaZorb^®, an oral drug for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease.”

The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project tax credit is provided under new section 48D of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-148). The credit is a tax benefit targeted to therapeutic discovery projects that show a reasonable potential to:

• Result in new therapies to treat areas of unmet medical need or prevent, detect or treat chronic or acute diseases and conditions,
• Reduce the long-term growth of health care costs in the United States, and/or
• Significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within 30 years.

About RenaZorb^®

RenaZorb, or SPI-014, is a non-aluminum, non-polymer, non-calcium, lanthanum-based nanotechnology with highly potent and selective phosphate binding properties, for the potential treatment via oral administration, of hyperphosphatemia (high phosphate levels in the blood), in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Hyperphosphatemia in Stage 5 CKD, also known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD), can lead to significant bone disease (including pain and fractures), secondary hyperthyroidism in renal sufficiency, cardiovascular disease, and is independently associated with increased mortality. Currently marketed therapies for treating hyperphosphatemia include polymer-based and lanthanum-based phosphate binders, aluminum-based phosphate binders, and calcium-based phosphate binders. According to the United States Renal Data System (USRDS), over the last 20 years, the number of patients with ESRD in the US has grown 4-fold. By 2010 there will be an estimated 661,330 patients with ESRD.

About Spectrum Pharmaceuticals

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in oncology. The Company’s strategy is comprised of acquiring, developing and commercializing a broad and diverse pipeline of late-stage clinical and commercial products. The Company markets two oncology drugs, FUSILEV and ZEVALIN, and has two drugs, apaziquone and belinostat, in late stage development along with a diversified pipeline of novel drug candidates. The Company has assembled an integrated in-house scientific team, including clinical development, medical research, regulatory affairs, biostatistics and data management, formulation development, and has established a commercial infrastructure for the marketing of its drug products. The Company also leverages the expertise of its worldwide partners to assist in the execution of its strategy. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.sppirx.com.

Forward-looking statement – This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements include but are not limited to statements that relate to our business and its future, including certain company milestones, Spectrum's ability to identify, acquire, develop and commercialize a broad and diverse pipeline of late-stage clinical and commercial products, leveraging the expertise of partners and employees, around the world to assist us in the execution of our strategy, and any statements that relate to the intent, belief, plans or expectations of Spectrum or its management, or that are not a statement of historical fact. Risks that could cause actual results to differ include the possibility that our existing and new drug candidates may not prove safe or effective, the possibility that our existing and new drug candidates may not receive approval from the FDA, and other regulatory agencies in a timely manner or at all, the possibility that our existing and new drug candidates, if approved, may not be more effective, safer or more cost efficient than competing drugs, the possibility that our efforts to acquire or in-license and develop additional drug candidates may fail, our lack of revenues, our limited marketing experience, our dependence on third parties for clinical trials, manufacturing, distribution and quality control and other risks that are described in further detail in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not plan to update any such forward-looking statements and expressly disclaim any duty to update the information contained in this press release except as required by law.

SPECTRUM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. ®, ZEVALIN®, FUSILEV® and RenaZorb^® are registered trademarks of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. REDEFINING CANCER CARE™ and the Spectrum Pharmaceutical logos are trademarks owned by Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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