Onyx Pharmaceuticals Announces $10 Million Private Placement 

January 13, 1998 7:13 PM EST

RICHMOND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 1998--Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(NASDAQ:ONXX) today announced the sale of a total of 1,403,508 shares of common
stock of the company to two institutional investors at a price of $7.125 per
share. 

Onyx has raised $10 million in the private placement, which closed Monday, Jan.
12, 1998. The company has agreed with the investors to file within 90 days a
registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the
resale of the shares. 

"Our cash position was already a strong $35 million as we entered 1998. Now,
with the added capital this placement provides, we can confidently pursue our
plans for active clinical development of ONYX-O15, our novel therapeutic virus
for cancer," said Hollings Renton, president and chief executive officer of
Onyx. "In addition, the proceeds of this financing will help support our other
ongoing cancer research and development efforts." 

International Biotechnology Trust plc (IBT) of London, which is managed by the
Rothschild Bioscience Unit, is the lead investor, and is joined in the
transaction by Lombard Odier & Cie of Geneva. 

"Onyx is an exciting and novel company engaged in the discovery of treatments 
for cancer as a genetic based disease," said Jeremy Curnook Cook, director of 
IBT. "The company has an excellent scientific record and has established 
collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies, such as Bayer Corp., 
Warner-Lambert and Eli Lilly, which is a testament to the quality of its 
research programs." 

As part of the transaction, Nicole Vitullo, senior vice president of the
Rothschild Bioscience Unit, will be appointed to the board of directors of Onyx
at the February board meeting. 

Onyx Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1992 for the purpose of discovering and
developing novel therapeutics based upon the genetics of human disease, with an
emphasis on cancer. The company focuses on defining the function of certain
mutated genes which are known to cause cancer, and on developing innovative
therapies to reverse the effects of the mutation or to kill the cancer cell. 

Onyx pursues a strategy of establishing corporate partnerships that provide
complementary skills in chemistry, drug development, and marketing and sales.
The company currently has four partnered programs with large pharmaceutical
companies, including Eli Lilly & Co., Warner-Lambert Company, and Bayer Corp. 


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Note: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements with regard
to the development of potential human therapeutic products that involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Actual events may differ from the company's
expectations. 

In addition to the matters described in this press release, the timeline for
clinical activity, results of pending or future clinical trials, and changes in
the status of the company's collaborative relationships, as well as the risk
factors listed from time to time in the company's periodic reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to its Annual
Report on Form 10-K, may affect the actual results achieved by the company. 

- -C- Business Wire. All rights reserved. 


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