EXHIBIT 99.1
                                  PRESS RELEASE



Investor Relations Contact
Frank Hawkins and Julie Marshall
Hawk Associates, Inc.
(800) 987-8256 or
info@hawkassociates.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

              PEREGRINE PHARMACEUTICALS RAISES OVER $2 MILLION FROM
            INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS; $1.5 MILLION IN DEBT CONVERTED

TUSTIN, CA, - JUNE 9, 2003 - Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PPHM) announced
today that it has raised gross proceeds of approximately $2.07 million with
eight institutional investors in exchange for the issuance of common stock and
warrants. The proceeds from the financing will help fund operations including
the continued development of its Vascular Targeting Agent (VTA) clinical
candidate. The company believes it now has sufficient cash on hand to fund its
operations through at least the second quarter of its 2004 fiscal year excluding
any revenues to be generated from Avid Bioservices, Inc., our wholly owned
subsidiary performing contract manufacturing services of biologics. Additional
funds are anticipated from signed and pending contracts at Avid Bioservices,
Inc., and from the potential strategic initiatives set forth in the Company's
filing on Form 10-Q.

Under the financing terms, the company issued approximately 2.41 million shares
of common stock at a purchase per share price equal to an approximate 10%
discount to the trailing five-day average closing price of the company's common
stock ending May 29, 2003, the date the commitment was signed by an
institutional investor. In accordance with the stipulations of an earlier
financing completed in August 2002, these terms were then offered for five
trading days to the institutional investors from the August 2002 financing, all
of whom accepted the commitment as of June 5, 2003.

In this latest financing agreement, the company also issued 150,000 four-year
warrants equivalent to 7.5% of the total number of shares of common stock issued
to certain investors with an exercise price equal to the per share purchase
price. Approximately 412,000 common shares sold under the financing did not
receive any warrant coverage. The shares and warrants were issued under two
separate shelf registration statements previously filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. In connection with this offering, the company paid a cash
fee to Olympic Securities, LLC equivalent to five percent of the gross proceeds
received from the sale of shares.



The company also announced the recent conversion of approximately $1.5 million
in existing convertible debt under the August 2002 financing in exchange for
common stock at the predetermined conversion price. The company now has $900,000
in convertible debt remaining, which if converted, will convert into
approximately 1.06 million shares of common stock.

"We are pleased to complete this financing, which strengthens our cash position
as we move our strategic initiatives forward," said Steven King, president and
CEO of Peregrine. "We believe additional cash could be generated through
partnering and other initiatives including those set forth in our last quarterly
report on Form 10-Q. We are encouraged by the high degree of interest being
shown in our Cotara(TM), Vasopermeation Enhancing Agent (VEA) and Vascular
Targeting Agent (VTA) technology platforms and the potential for partnering
those technologies. We are continuing to move our own VTA and VEA candidates
toward clinical trials, and we are pleased with the progress of Avid Bioservices
and anticipate continued growth of that business."

"This financing combined with the conversion of approximately $1.5 million in
convertible debt significantly strengthens the financial position of the
company." said Paul Lytle, Peregrine's Chief Financial Officer. "With this
infusion of cash, the company believes it has sufficient cash on hand to fund
its operations through at least the second quarter of the 2004 fiscal year
without taking into consideration any additional revenues from existing signed
contacts or pending project proposals with Avid Bioservices."

ABOUT PEREGRINE PHARMACEUTICALS
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the
development, commercialization and licensing of unique technologies for the
treatment of cancer, primarily based on three collateral targeting technologies.
Peregrine's Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT), Vasopermeation Enhancement Agents
(VEA), and Vascular Targeting Agents (VTA) technologies target cell structures
and cell types that are common among solid tumor cancers, giving them broad
applicability across various tumor types. The company has received approval from
the FDA to start a Cotara(TM) Phase III clinical trial for brain cancer. Cotara
is also being studied in a Phase I trial for colorectal, pancreas, soft tissue
sarcoma and biliary cancers at Stanford University. The company is focused on
licensing collaborations for all of its technologies under development. The
company's Oncolym(R) technology to treat non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma in Phase
I/II of development is available for licensing. The company operates a cGMP
contract manufacturing facility for monoclonal antibodies and recombinant
proteins through its wholly-owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc.
(www.avidbio.com). Copies of Peregrine press releases, SEC filings, current
price quotes and other valuable information for investors may be found on the
website www.peregrineinc.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: THIS RELEASE MAY CONTAIN CERTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS THAT ARE MADE PURSUANT TO THE SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE
SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. ACTUAL EVENTS OR RESULTS MAY DIFFER
FROM THE COMPANY'S EXPECTATIONS AS A RESULT OF RISK FACTORS DISCUSSED IN
PEREGRINE'S REPORTS ON FILE WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE COMPANY'S REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR
ENDED APRIL 30, 2002 AND ON FORM 10-Q FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JANUARY 31, 2003.