EXHIBIT 99.1



                                    [LOGO]



                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

             NEOTHERAPEUTICS COMPLETES $7 MILLION PRIVATE PLACEMENT
                                 OF COMMON STOCK

Irvine, California - May 2, 2000 - NeoTherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEOT; NEOTW)
today announced the completion of a sale to a major Canadian financial
institution of 500,000 shares of NeoTherapeutics Common Stock at $14.00 per
share for total proceeds of US$7 million. The investor also received a five-year
warrant to purchase up to 125,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of
$17.50 per share. Dlouhy Investments Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada,
acted as the placement agent for the transaction.

"We are very pleased to include this prestigious institutional investor as a
stockholder of our Company. It is gratifying that the investor looked beyond
today's market volatility and focused on the progress we have made in the
clinical trial program for NEOTROFIN-TM- and the promise of our other product
candidates and functional genomics technology when making their investment
decision. The proceeds of this financing will add to our working capital, and
together with other recent private placements, will fund the clinical
development of NeoTherapeutics' lead product candidate, NEOTROFIN-TM-, and will
also advance the development of our other pipeline product candidates and expand
our functional genomics company NeoGene Technologies, Inc." commented Sam Gulko,
NeoTherapeutics' Chief Financial Officer.

NEOTROFIN-TM- is being developed for nerve repair and regeneration, with
Alzheimer's disease as its first clinical indication. Pre-clinical studies have
demonstrated that NEOTROFIN-TM- causes the production of multiple natural nerve
growth (neurotrophic) factors and restores function in animal models of
cognitive decline, aging, neuroprotection, and spinal cord injury. Human
clinical studies have demonstrated positive effects of NEOTROFIN-TM- on memory
and behavioral function in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

According to figures from the Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's disease
presently affects over 4 million people in the U.S. and approximately 12 million
patients worldwide, with associated health care costs of $80-$100 billion per
year. Currently marketed drugs, such as Aricept-Registered Trademark-, developed
by Eisai and marketed by both Eisai and Pfizer, and Exelon-Registered
Trademark-, developed and marketed by Novartis, have been approved for the
treatment of symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.




NeoTherapeutics Completes $7 Million Private Placement of Common Stock
May 2, 2000
Page 2

NeoTherapeutics' research and development program is focused on designing and
developing small molecules capable of treating a range of neurological diseases
and conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, peripheral
neuropathy, stroke, and spinal cord injury. Additional compounds in
NeoTherapeutics' product pipeline address other health issues such as migraine
and depression. NeoGene Technologies, Inc., NeoTherapeutics' subsidiary, is a
functional genomics company engaged in the development of a broad platform of
enabling technology, receptor-targeted drug design. NeoGene Technologies is
using this technology to search for natural and synthetic compounds that can
potentially be developed as drugs for treating various diseases. For additional
Company information, visit the NeoTherapeutics web site at
www.neotherapeutics.com.

This press release contains 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.

CONTACTS:

INVESTMENT COMMUNITY:                         MEDIA:
Carol Gruetter                                Kelly Finley
NeoTherapeutics, Inc.                         Halsted Communications, Inc.
Tel:      (949) 788-6700                      Tel:      (800) 600-7111 x.233
e-mail:   cgruetter@neotherapeutics.com                 (323) 225-1835
                                              e-mail:  kfinley@halsted.com


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