Former Shire Finance Executive Joins Cyclacel As Chief Financial Officer

DUNDEE - 24 April 2002 - Cyclacel Limited, the UK-based cancer biopharmaceutical company, announced today a significant strengthening of its management team with the appointment of Paul McBarron as Chief Financial Officer. Mr McBarron also joined Cyclacel's Board of Directors. As Cyclacel's CFO he will be responsible for all aspects of finance, systems and control.

Mr McBarron has thirteen years of experience as a financial executive with several pharmaceutical companies. Since 1996 he was a senior member of the finance team at Shire Pharmaceuticals plc where he held the positions of Director, Corporate Finance and Group Financial Controller. He joined Shire when it was an emerging public company employing less than 100 people. Whilst at Shire he made important contributions to all of Shire's acquisition and financing activities. He was previously employed at SmithKline Beecham and Sterling Drug and qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young.

Paul McBarron said: "I am delighted to be joining Cyclacel. The company's growing drug portfolio, strong science base and its high quality management team provide a solid foundation from which to advance and grow the company. I am very excited about Cyclacel's future and I look forward to working with our management team and employees to develop the company further and realise its potential."

Spiro Rombotis, Cyclacel's Chief Executive, commented: "Paul is a formidable senior executive addition to Cyclacel. His experience as part of a group that grew a small pharmaceutical enterprise through public market listing and several large acquisitions to a major player on the world stage adds valuable skills to Cyclacel's management team. Attracting a CFO of Paul's calibre illustrates the fact that Cyclacel's overall excellence is a strong magnet for talent."