ME-143

SAN DIEGO, April 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP), an oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapies for cancer, announced today an underwritten registered offering of 2,030,000 shares of its common stock at a price per share of $7.50. The offering is expected to settle and close on April 10, 2013, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. (Logo: ) The Company plans to use the net proceeds of the offering, together with other available funds, to progress the clinical development program for its lead drug candidate, Pracinostat, and for other general corporate purposes. Stifel and Cowen and Company acted as joint book-runners for the offering. Roth Capital Partners acted as co-manager. The securities described above are being offered pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement previously filed and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Attention: Syndicate, One Montgomery Street, Suite 3700, San Francisco, California 94104, or by calling (415) 364-2500, or from Cowen and Company, LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Services, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by calling (631) 274-2806, or by faxing (631) 254-7140. An electronic copy of the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to the offering will also be available on the website of the SEC at . This release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. 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 lead drug candidate is Pracinostat, a potential best-in-class, oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor being developed for advanced hematologic malignancies such as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Results from a pilot Phase II clinical trial of Pracinostat in combination with azacitidine in patients with advanced MDS were presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in December 2012 showing an overall response rate (CR+CRi+PR) of 89% (eight out of nine). The Company plans to initiate a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase II trial of Pracinostat in combination with azacitidine in patients with MDS in June 2013. In addition, MEI Pharma is developing two drug candidates derived from its isoflavone-based technology platform, ME-143 and ME-344. 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.