Celgene Limited expressed disappointment at the advice given by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) that Revlimid® (lenalidomide) is not recommended for use within the NHS in Scotland for the treatment of multiple myeloma, on the grounds of cost effectiveness.

It is estimated that, on average patients, in desperate need of treatment, could gain nearly 3 additional years of life when treated with Revlimid compared with previous standards of care.1 Although the SMC did not challenge the clinical justification for the use of Revlimid, it deemed the economic case to be insufficiently justified. Celgene believed that the cost effectiveness measure for Revlimid - the cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) - fell within the range considered acceptable by Health Technology Assessment bodies such as the SMC.

"This decision will have a devastating impact on patients with multiple myeloma in Scotland as it could result in a life or death situation for many," stated Professor Gareth Morgan, haematology consultant and President of Myeloma UK. "Lenalidomide offers new hope for cancer patients as it represents a major step forward towards turning multiple myeloma into a chronic disease rather than the death sentence it has been until now."

Multiple myeloma is a terminal blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow's plasma cells. There are nearly 3,800 new cases of multiple myeloma in the UK per year with more than 2,400 people dying from the disease annually.2 On average 300 new cases of multiple myeloma are diagnosed each year in Scotland and around 1,300 people are living with the disease at any one time.3

"This outcome is a major disappointment for multiple myeloma patients in Scotland as these patients already have limited treatment options," commented Dr Paul Micallef-Eynaud, haematology consultant at The Ayr Hospital.

"We are disappointed by this decision to restrict access to Revlimid in Scotland," stated Dr. Colin Wheeler, Medical Director, Celgene. "Celgene is committed to doing all it can to ensure that this treatment is made as widely available as possible for the treatment of multiple myeloma and for this reason we plan to resubmit our submission to the SMC."

About myeloma

Myeloma is a type of blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow's plasma cells. Since myeloma can develop wherever there are plasma cells, it can arise in several places in the body and so is often called multiple myeloma. In myeloma, too many plasma cells are made and the body is unable to make normal white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. The lack of white and red blood cells and platelets means that people with myeloma are more prone to infections, feel tired and breathless, and prone to bleeding problems.4

About quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)

Quality-adjusted life years, or QALYs, is a way of measuring disease burden, including both the quality and the quantity of life lived, as a means of quantifying in benefit of a medical intervention.

About Revlimid®

Revlimid® (lenalidomide) (which is the active substance in the treatment) is the first of the IMiDs®, to be licensed, a proprietary group of novel immunomodulatory agents developed by the biopharmaceutical company Celgene. Immunomodulatory agents enhance or suppress the immune system. It is an oral treatment, which means that patients no longer need to go to hospital for all their

The results of trials using Revlimid® (lenalidomide) have shown better results in patients with multiple myeloma than ever seen before.1

-- In nearly two thirds (60.2%) of patients taking lenalidomide plus dexamethasone the signs and symptoms of their myeloma either disappeared or were substantially reduced compared with a quarter (24%) for those on dexamethasone plus a dummy drug called a placebo. (Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid used to treat inflammatory and autoimmune conditions as well as some cancers.)

-- Overall survival was significantly improved in the lenalidomide group.

-- In this same trial, the patients taking lenalidomide were free of the signs and symptoms of cancer for longer than those who had received dexamethasone and placebo, at 16.5 months.

-- Patients in the trial treated with lenalidomide also experienced the longest disease-free stretch of time ever reported in clinical trials. In the trial the median time until the disease came back for the patients taking lenalidomide plus dexamethasone, was 11.3 months - more than double the time for patients taking dexamethasone and placebo, 4.7 months.

The most common side effects associated with lenalidomide are low platelets (small cell fragments in the blood essential for clotting), low white blood cells, and diarrhoea. Other reported adverse events include constipation, rash, itchiness, weakness, dizziness and fatigue. Lenalidomide has also demonstrated a risk of deep vein thrombosis in some patients with certain medical conditions. Many of these serious adverse events are consistent with the patients' disease state, age, and other health problems.1

Revlimid® is currently available to patients in more than 30 countries. Celgene plans to expand access to Revlimid® to patients in need in nearly 100 countries over the next five years.

About Celgene UK

Celgene UK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celgene Corporation. Celgene Corporation, with its worldwide headquarters in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global pharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through gene and protein regulation. For more information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.celgene.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements which are subject to known and unknown risks, delays, uncertainties and other factors not under the Company's control, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include results of current or pending research and development activities, actions by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission such as our 10K, 10Q and 8K reports.

REVLIMID® is a registered trademark of Celgene Corporation.

1 J. Ishak, et al., "Modeling overall survival in the event of patient cross-over from dexamethasome to lenalidomide in phase III multiple myeloma trials" presented at the British Society for Haematology (BSH) meeting in April 2008 in Glasgow.

2 Cancer Research UK. UK Multiple myeloma incidence statistics. Accessed February 2008.

3 Celgene data on file

4 Cancer Research UK. What is myeloma ?accessed February 2008

http://www.celgene.com