MEI Pharma Issued European Patent For Lead Mitochondrial Inhibitor Drug Candidate ME-344

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP), an oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapies for cancer, announced today that the European Patent Office has issued a new patent, European Patent No. 1 794 141 B1, covering the pharmaceutical composition of the Company's lead mitochondrial inhibitor candidate, ME-344, and its use in treating cancer. The patent is expected to provide protection until September 2025.

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"This key European patent further reinforces the intellectual property protection surrounding our portfolio of oncology drug candidates," said Daniel P. Gold, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MEI Pharma. "While we continue to execute our Phase I clinical trial for ME-344 and prepare for our upcoming Phase II trials, we believe a strong patent estate will help to provide a clear development path forward and enhance our partnering efforts in the U.S. and abroad."

MEI Pharma owns exclusive worldwide rights to all of its drug candidates, including ME-143, ME-344 and Pracinostat. The Company's intellectual property portfolio now includes 18 issued U.S. patents and more than 150 issued foreign patents.

About MEI Pharma

MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP) is a San Diego-based oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapies for cancer. The Company's clinical development pipeline includes two isoflavone-based drug candidates derived from its proprietary technology platform, ME-143 and ME-344, and a potential best-in-class, oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, Pracinostat. Results from a Phase I dose-escalation trial of lead NADH oxidase inhibitor ME-143 in heavily treated patients with solid refractory tumors were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in June 2012. A Phase I clinical trial of lead mitochondrial inhibitor ME-344 in patients with solid refractory tumors is ongoing. Pracinostat has been tested in more than 150 patients in multiple Phase I and exploratory Phase II clinical trials, including advanced hematologic disorders such as acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and myelofibrosis. For more information, go to www.meipharma.com.

Under U.S. law, a new drug cannot be marketed until it has been investigated in clinical trials and approved by the FDA as being safe and effective for the intended use. Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our failure to successfully commercialize our product candidates; costs and delays in the development and/or FDA approval, or the failure to obtain such approval, of our product candidates; uncertainties or differences in interpretation in clinical trial results; our inability to maintain or enter into, and the risks resulting from our dependence upon, collaboration or contractual arrangements necessary for the development, manufacture, commercialization, marketing, sales and distribution of any products; competitive factors; our inability to protect our patents or proprietary rights and obtain necessary rights to third party patents and intellectual property to operate our business; our inability to operate our business without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of others; general economic conditions; the failure of any products to gain market acceptance; our inability to obtain any additional required financing; technological changes; government regulation; changes in industry practice; and one-time events. We do not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE MEI Pharma, Inc.

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