OXiGENE Begins Pivotal Registration Study for ZYBRESTAT(TM) in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

OXiGENE Begins Pivotal Registration Study for ZYBRESTAT(TM) in Anaplastic
Thyroid Cancer

    WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 2007--Regulatory News:

    OXiGENE, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN, XSSE: OXGN) a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat
cancer and eye diseases, announced that it has begun a pivotal
registration study of its first-in-class vascular disrupting agent,
ZYBRESTAT(TM) (combretastatin-A4 phosphate / CA4P), in patients with
metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC).

    The multinational, randomized and controlled, Phase II/III study
is being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreement with
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is expected to enroll
approximately 180 patients at about 45 sites in the United States,
Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Two-thirds of
the patients will be administered intravenous ZYBRESTAT plus
carboplatin and paclitaxel, and the other third will receive
carboplatin and paclitaxel alone. The primary endpoint will be a
statistically significant difference in the overall survival rate
between the two treatment arms, as determined by a log-rank analysis
of Kaplan-Meier survival curves at times when pre-determined numbers
of study events (patient deaths) are reached. The study design
incorporates a planned interim analysis for efficacy and safety, which
will be overseen by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee.
ZYBRESTAT has been granted Fast Track status by the FDA and Orphan
Drug status by both the FDA and the European Agency for the Evaluation
of Medicinal Products (EMEA)."The initiation of this pivotal study last week represents a major
advancement in the Company's efforts to bring ZYBRESTAT to market,"
said Richard Chin, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of OXiGENE. "There is
a tremendous need for effective treatment options for patients
suffering from anaplastic thyroid cancer, and this pivotal
registration study is based on a significant body of encouraging
preclinical and clinical data that suggest that the combination of
ZYBRESTAT, carboplatin, and paclitaxel has activity against anaplastic
thyroid cancer and other solid tumors."

    Additional information regarding the study design, enrollment
criteria, and participating centers will be available at
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (keyword: anaplastic thyroid cancer).

    About Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

    ATC is one of the most lethal cancers known in humans. There are
no approved treatments for this disease. ATC is a high-grade neoplasm,
characterized by an aggressive clinical course with brief survival,
and refractoriness to currently available local and systemic
modalities of treatment. ATC comprises 1-2% of all thyroid
malignancies in the United States, and up to 5% in certain countries
outside the United States. While ATC epidemiology has not been
extensively studied and documented, it is estimated that there are
approximately 1,000 to 4,000 new cases per year in the U.S. and in
Europe combined. Newly-diagnosed ATC patients have a median life
expectancy of approximately 3 months, and only a very limited number
of patients survive for longer than one year.

    About ZYBRESTAT / Combretastatin A4P (CA4P)

    The Company believes that ZYBRESTAT is poised to become the first
therapeutic product in a novel class of small-molecule drug candidates
called vascular disrupting agents (VDAs). Through interaction with
vascular endothelial cell cytoskeletal proteins, ZYBRESTAT selectively
targets and collapses tumor vasculature, thereby depriving the tumor
of oxygen and causing death of tumor cells. ZYBRESTAT has demonstrated
potent and selective activity against tumor vasculature, as well as
clinical activity against ATC and other solid tumors in clinical
studies.

    About Special Protocol Assessments

    A Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) is an agreement with the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration that the Company's Phase II/III clinical
trial design is sufficient to form the basis for a regulatory
approval, if pre-specified efficacy results are achieved. The SPA
process allows for FDA evaluation of a clinical trial protocol
intended to form the primary basis of an efficacy claim in support of
a New Drug Application (NDA). For more information on Special Protocol
Assessments, please go to
http://www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/protocol.htm#ii.

    About OXiGENE, Inc.

    OXiGENE is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing
novel small- molecule therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases.
The Company's major focus is the clinical advancement of drug
candidates that selectively disrupt abnormal blood vessels associated
with solid tumor progression and visual impairment. OXiGENE is
dedicated to leveraging its intellectual property position and
therapeutic development expertise to bring life-saving and
life-enhancing medicines to patients.

    Safe Harbor Statement

    This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any
or all of the forward-looking statements in this press release,
including those relating to the successful completion of the planned
Phase II/III trial, approval by the FDA, timing of patient enrollment,
and ZYBRESTAT leading a novel class of small-molecule drug candidates
may turn out to be wrong. Forward-looking statements can be affected
by inaccurate assumptions OXiGENE might make or by known or unknown
risks and uncertainties. Additional information concerning factors
that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the
forward-looking statements is contained in OXiGENE's reports to the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including OXiGENE's Form 10-K,
10-Q and 8-K reports. However, OXiGENE undertakes no obligation to
publicly update forward-looking statements, whether because of new
information, future events or otherwise. Please refer to our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006.

    Information for Patients and Caregivers

    If you are a patient or a caregiver, and you would like further
information about enrollment in the ATC and the OXiGENE Pivotal
ZYBRESTAT clinical trial, please contact ThyCa, Thyroid Cancer
Survivors' Association, Inc.:

    ThyCA

    www.ThyCa.org

    (877) 588-7904

    thyca@thyca.org

CONTACT: OXiGENE, Inc.
             Investor Relations, 781-547-5900