Investors

SHORT HILLS, NJ, October 24, 2006 - Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CYCC) announced today that John Womelsdorf, Ph.D., has joined the company as Vice President, Business Development. Dr. Womelsdorf has more than 20 years experience in business development roles at Hoffmann-La Roche, Baxter International and, most recently, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) where he served as Executive Director, Licensing and New Business Development of the Pharmaceuticals Group.

“John has exceptional expertise in oncology and a proven track record executing successful business development transactions at world-class pharmaceutical companies,” said Spiro Rombotis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cyclacel. “We are delighted that John has decided to join our team at this time as we continue to advance our orally-available lead candidates, seliciclib and sapacitabine, through clinical trials; prepare to move CYC116, our orally-available Aurora kinase inhibitor, into the clinic; and continue to create value from the rest of our pipeline.”

During his tenure at J&J, Dr. Womelsdorf closed multiple transactions, including a recent deal with MGI Pharma that gave J&J rights outside North America to Dacogen™ (decitabine), a late stage oncology product with utility in Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Acute Myeloid Leukemia and other cancers. He was appointed to the Board of Tibotec Therapeutics, J&J’s oncology and virology company, in 2004. As a board member, Dr. Womelsdorf helped oversee the transition of the company to a commercial entity culminating in the successful launch of Prezista™ (darunivir) a novel protease inhibitor for the treatment of HIV.

Prior to joining J&J, Dr. Womelsdorf worked as a Global Licensing Director for F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., closing a variety of transactions in hematology, oncology and virology and negotiating Roche’s only global co-development/co-promotion agreement in a transaction with GlaxoSmithKline to commercialize ibandronate in osteoporosis. He was previously a Business Development Fellow at Baxter International, Inc. where he worked closely with Research and Development licensing in early technologies.

Dr. Womelsdorf earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1988 and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry in 1993 from Stevens Institute of Technology. He also earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University in 1997.

About Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Cyclacel is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, mechanism-targeted drugs to treat human cancers and other serious disorders. The Company is currently evaluating seliciclib (CYC202), an orally-available cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor, in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of lung cancer. Sapacitabine (CYC682) is an orally-available, cell cycle modulating nucleoside analog in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. CYC116 is an orally-available, Aurora kinase inhibitor in IND-directed preclinical development. Several additional programs are at an earlier stage.

Note: The Cyclacel logo and Cyclacel® are trademarks of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Risk Factors

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, the efficacy, safety, and intended utilization of Cyclacel’s product candidates, the conduct and results of future clinical trials, plans regarding regulatory filings, future research and clinical trials and plans regarding partnering activities. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include the risk that product candidates that appeared promising in early research and clinical trials do not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in larger-scale or later clinical trials, the risk that Cyclacel will not obtain approval to market its products, the risks associated with reliance on outside financing to meet capital requirements, and the risks associated with reliance on collaborative partners for further clinical trials, development and commercialization of product candidates. You are urged to consider statements that include the words "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "continues," "forecast," "designed," "goal," or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and forward-looking. These factors and others are more fully discussed under "Risk Factors" in the registration statement on Forms S-3 (File No. 333-134945) and S-4 (File No. 333-131225) and in the other reports of Cyclacel filed with the SEC.

Contacts for Cyclacel:

For Investors:
TS Communications Group, LLC (914) 921-5900
Tara Spiess / Andrea Romstad

For Media:
Feinstein Kean Healthcare (617) 577-8110
Robert Gottlieb / Kate Weiss
Kean Healthcare (617) 577-8110
Robert Gottlieb / Kate Weiss