MAXIM REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER NET LOSS OF $11.1 MILLION.

Maxim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: MAXM, SSE: MAXM) has reported financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended September 30, 2002. The net loss applicable to common stock for the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2002 totaled $11.1 million, or $0.48 per share, compared to a net loss applicable to common stock of $8.2 million, or $0.35 per share, for the same period of the prior year.

The net loss before cumulative effect of accounting change applicable to common stock for the year ended September 30, 2002, totaled $36.1 million, or $1.55 per share compared to a net loss before cumulative effect of accounting change applicable to common stock of $37.3 million, or $1.61 per share, for the prior year.

The company had cash, cash equivalents and investments totaling $111.5 million at September 30, 2002, and used net cash of $32.4 million in its operations during the year ended September 30, 2002.

Effective October 1, 2001, the beginning of the company's fiscal year, the company adopted the provisions of a newly required accounting standard, Statement of Financial Accounting Standard ("SFAS") No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. SFAS No. 142 requires that goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives no longer be amortized, but instead be tested for impairment at least annually. Under the provisions of SFAS No. 142, Maxim was required for the first time to compare the carrying value of its assets, including goodwill, to the fair value of the company, with the fair value based on the market price of the company's common stock. As this analysis indicated an impairment of goodwill, the company was required to measure the amount of impairment by comparing the "implied" fair value of the goodwill to its carrying amount. Based on the market price of the company's common stock, these analyses suggested that the implied fair value of the goodwill was zero. As a result, a non-cash charge of $28.2 million was recorded during the quarter ended December 31, 2001, reflecting the cumulative effect of adopting the new accounting principle and the related write down of goodwill.

As a result of the write down in goodwill, the net loss applicable to common stock for the year ended September 30, 2002 totaled $64.3 million, or $2.76 per share, compared to a net loss applicable to common stock of $37.3 million or $1.61 per share, for the prior year.

During the quarter ended September 30, 2002, the company recorded $1.6 million of expense related to the establishment of an allowance for a note receivable from an officer, and a liability related to its guarantee of a bank loan to another officer, based upon an assessment of each officer's current ability to repay such loans. The company intends to collect from the officers the note and any amounts that may ultimately be paid under the loan guarantee.

"2002 was a year filled with many achievements including the reporting of the three-year follow-up results from our Phase 3 Ceplene trial in advanced metastatic melanoma, which demonstrated a statistically significant long-term survival benefit; the publication of Ceplene Phase 3 advanced malignant melanoma results in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) and in the JCO Classic Papers and Current Comments; commencement of our confirming Phase 3 clinical trial of Ceplene in advanced metastatic melanoma with liver metastases, the final trial designed to support U.S. approval; and initiation of a large phase 2 trial in Hepatitis C nonresponder patients," stated Larry G. Stambaugh, Maxim's president, chief executive officer and chairman.

According to Stambaugh, the company's top objectives for 2003 are as follows:

- Complete enrollment of our confirming Phase 3 study testing Ceplene in the treatment of advanced metastatic melanoma with liver metastases.

- Evaluate the potential 2003 filing of an application in the European Union for approval to market Ceplene for the treatment of advanced metastatic melanoma.

- Advance development of the oral delivery formulation of histamine.

- Complete enrollment of the company's key Phase 2 trial testing Ceplene in the treatment of hepatitis C.

- Initate corporate partnering to assist with the development and marketing of Ceplene.

- Initiate corporate partnering for the apoptosis modulator technology platform.

"While there can be no assurance that all the objectives will be achieved, executing these objectives will be key to bringing the company closer to achieving our mission to develop and commercialize safe and effective drugs that extend the survival and maintain the quality of life for patients with life-threatening cancers, hepatitis C and other chronic liver diseases," stated Stambaugh.

The company will be holding its 2002 Annual Stockholders' Meeting Thursday, February 20, 2003, in New York. A management presentation to European stockholders will be held Monday, February 24, 2003, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Maxim Overview

Maxim Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company with a diverse pipeline of therapeutic candidates for life-threatening cancers and liver diseases. Maxim's research and development programs are designed to offer hope to patients by developing safe and effective therapeutic candidates that have the potential to extend survival while maintaining quality of life.

In addition to Ceplene, Maxim's researchers have identified a series of novel cancer drug candidates that are potent inducers of apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The compounds were identified through Maxim's proprietary, high-throughput screening technology that uses a unique live cell-screening assay. Maxim has screened approximately one million compounds using its screening technology and has identified drug candidates with unique mechanisms of actions that target major cancers such as breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal. The company's third technology platform, the MX8899 topical gel, is being tested in two clinical trials in patients who suffer from oral mucositis and radiation dermatitis, both of which are side effects of certain cancer therapies.

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