Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. Files Class Action Suit Against Novelos Therapeutics, Inc.

The Egleston Law Firm and Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. (“Rigrodsky & Long”) today announced that a class action has been commenced on behalf of an investor in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Novelos Therapeutics, Inc. (“Novelos” or the “Company”) (OTCBB: NVLT) between December 14, 2009 and February 24, 2010, inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Timothy J. MacFall at (516) 683-3516, or via e-mail at tjm@rigrodskylong.com. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Novelos and Harry S. Palmin (“Palmin”), the President, Chief Executive Officer and director of the Company, with violations of the Exchange Act. Novelos is a biopharmaceutical company commercializing oxidized glutathione-based compounds for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis.

The complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, defendant Palmin made positive statements regarding the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of the Company's primary new drug candidate, NOV-002, which was being evaluated as a treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer when used in combination with first-line chemotherapy. Defendant Palmin stated, among other things, that the NOV-002 Phase 3 trial had lasted longer than anticipated because patients in the trial were living longer than the Company expected. The complaint further alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because defendant Palmin knew, or recklessly disregarded, that the unexpected length of the trial could be, and was, in fact, caused by the survival times of the patients in the control arm of the study who did not receive NOV-002.

On February 24, 2010, the Company announced that NOV-002 did not meet its primary endpoint of improvement in overall survival in the Phase 3 trial. Indeed, it was disclosed that the trial's duration was longer than originally anticipated not because of NOV-002's efficacy, but because the patients in the control arm of the trial -- who did not receive NOV-002 -- lived longer than expected. On this news, shares of the Company's stock declined more than 80%, from a close of $1.65 per share on February 23, 2010, prior to announcement of the results of the NOV-002 Phase 3 trial, to a close of $0.32 per share on February 24, 2010, after announcement of the Phase 3 trial results, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Novelos common stock during the Class Period (the “Class”). The plaintiff is represented by the Egleston Law Firm and Rigrodsky & Long, whose attorneys have decades of experience in prosecuting securities class actions and investor class actions throughout the United States.