MAXIM PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES FINAL DISMISSAL OF FEDERAL LAWSUIT

MAXIM PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES FINAL DISMISSAL OF FEDERAL LAWSUIT SAN DIEGO-- (BUSINESS WIRE)- May 20, 2004--Maxim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: MAXM)(SSE: MAXM) announced that the Plaintiff in the Company's federal class action securities complaint has dropped their appeal of the court's previous dismissal of the action, ending the litigation. On December 14, 2000, the plaintiff Blake Martin, on behalf of himself and purportedly on behalf of a class of similarly situated stockholders, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California against Maxim and certain officers of Maxim, alleging that the defendants violated the federal securities laws by purportedly issuing false and misleading statements to the securities markets. In December 2003, the United States Federal Court granted Maxim's motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice and without leave to amend, which was the third dismissal entered by the court in the case. Thereafter, the Plaintiff filed an appeal of the dismissal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That appeal has been dropped, ending the litigation in favor of the Company. "We have stated strongly from the start that the claims were without merit," said Larry G. Stambaugh, Maxim's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "On three separate occasions, the judge reached the same conclusion. We are pleased to have this lengthy process completed." 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. Maxim's lead drug candidate CepleneTM, based on the naturally occurring molecule histamine, is designed to prevent or inhibit oxidative stress, thereby reversing immune suppression and protecting critical immune cells. Ceplene has been tested in 17 completed or ongoing clinical trials in 20 countries, including four Phase 3 clinical trials. Ceplene is currently being tested in a Phase 3 cancer clinical trial for advanced metastatic melanoma with liver metastasis. Maxim recently announced the successful results of a Phase 3 trial testing Ceplene, as a remission therapy, for the treatment of patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia. Phase 2 trials of Ceplene are also underway for the treatment of hepatitis C and advanced renal cell carcinoma. More than 2,000 patients have participated in the Company's completed and ongoing clinical trials. In November 2003, Maxim applied for approval to market Ceplene in the European Union for the treatment of advanced malignant melanoma. In addition to Ceplene, Maxim is developing small-molecule inhibitors and activators of programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis, which may serve as drug candidates for cancer, cardiovascular disease and other degenerative diseases. Ceplene and the apoptosis inducers are investigational drugs and have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or any international regulatory agency. This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the efficacy, safety and intended utilization of Ceplene, and the apoptosis inducers, and the conduct, results and timelines associated with the Company's clinical trials. Such statements are only predictions and the Company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include the risk that products that appeared promising in early research and clinical trials do not demonstrate safety or efficacy in larger-scale clinical trials, the risk that the Company will not obtain approval to market its products and the risks associated with litigation. These factors and others are more fully discussed in the Company's periodic reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Note: The Maxim logo is a trademark of the Company. Editor's Note: This release is also available on the Internet at http://www.maxim.com. ### Contacts: Larry G. Stambaugh Aline Schimmel (Investors) Chief Executive Officer Burns McClellan Anthony E. Altig (212) 213-0006 Chief Financial Officer Sean Collins (Media) (858) 453-4040 Valerie Bent (Media) CCG Investor Relations (818) 789-0100 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/05/20/20040520BIT00020/wkr0001.pdf