EXHIBIT 99.1

                             [NEOTHERAPEUTICS LOGO]


Contacts:

MEDIA RELATIONS                           INVESTOR RELATIONS
Jon Siegal                                John McManus
Ronald Trahan Associates (RTA) Inc.       NeoTherapeutics, Inc.
(508) 647-9782, ext. 15                   (949) 788-6700, ext. 247


NEOTHERAPEUTICS SIGNS SECOND LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH PFIZER FOR USE OF AN ORPHAN
RECEPTOR IDENTIFIED BY ITS NEOGENE TECHNOLOGIES SUBSIDIARY

     IRVINE, Calif., December 20, 2001 -- NeoTherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOT)
announced today that its genomics division has entered into an agreement with
Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE). This is the second agreement that Pfizer has signed with
NeoGene this year. Under the terms of the additional agreement, NeoTherapeutics
will receive an initial payment and milestone payments similar to the previous
agreement.

     "This second agreement between NeoTherapeutics and Pfizer confirms the
potential pharmaceutical value of our research findings", stated Olivier
Civelli, Ph.D., Principal Investigator for NeoGene Technologies. "We are pleased
that Pfizer has decided to in-license a second system for development."

     "We are pleased to expand our relationship with Pfizer, and are excited
about the potential that we believe these receptor systems represent as targets
for discovery of pharmaceutical products", stated Alvin J. Glasky, Ph.D.,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NeoTherapeutics. "NeoGene's scientific
team leads the world in the identification of orphan receptors, which represent
very valuable tools for developing new drug candidates, and we hope to further
demonstrate the value of their discoveries and capabilities through additional
license agreements and research alliances."

     NeoGene's expertise relates to the largest family of receptors in the human
body called the G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The GPCRs direct many of
the physiological functions that are of pharmaceutical interest. Since about
half of the drugs that are marketed at present act on GPCR's, the Company
expects that many drugs in the future will act on unknown GPCR's or "orphan"
receptors. NeoGene has placed itself at the forefront of future pharmaceutical
research in its efforts to identify the function of the approximately 140
remaining orphan receptors.

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     NeoTherapeutics seeks to create value for stockholders through the
discovery and development of central nervous system (CNS) drugs, in-licensing
and commercialization of anti-cancer drugs, and the licensing out of new drug
targets discovered through genomics research. The Company has two drugs
addressing major medical needs in pivotal/phase 3 stage of development:
Neotrofin(TM) for Alzheimer's disease and Satraplatin for prostate cancer.
Additional neurology and anti-cancer drugs such are in phase 1 and 2 human
clinical trials and the Company has a rich pipeline of pre-clinical drug
candidates. For additional information visit the Company's web site at
www.neot.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding future
events and the future performance of NeoTherapeutics that involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks
are described in further detail in the Company's reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

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