Contact:
            Investors:
              
              Progenics
      Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
              Richard
      W. Krawiec, Ph.D.
              Vice
      President, Corporate Affairs
              (914)
      789-2814
              rkrawiec@progenics.com
              
              Dory
      A. Lombardo
              Senior
      Manager, Corporate Affairs
              (914)
      789-2818
              dlombardo@progenics.com
            Media:
              
              WeissComm
      Partners
              Aline
      Schimmel
              (312)
      646-6295








PROGENICS
PHARMACEUTICALS AND ONO PHARMACEUTICAL ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP AND
COMMERCIALIZE RELISTOR IN JAPAN





–
RELISTOR franchise to be extended by license agreement


with
a top-10 Japanese pharmaceutical company –





Tarrytown, NY – October 16,
2008 – Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGNX) and Ono Pharmaceutical
Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan  (OSE-TYO: 4528) today announced an exclusive
license agreement under which Ono has acquired the rights to RELISTOR®
(methylnaltrexone bromide) in Japan, where it plans to develop and commercialize
the U.S.-approved drug for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation.
RELISTOR is being developed and commercialized in the rest of the world by
Progenics and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth
(NYSE:WYE).





Under
today’s agreement, Ono is responsible for developing and commercializing
subcutaneous RELISTOR in Japan, including conducting the clinical development
necessary to support regulatory marketing approval.  Progenics will
receive a $15 million upfront payment from Ono, with up to an additional $20
million payable upon achievement of development milestones.  Further,
Ono will pay to Progenics royalties and commercialization milestones on sales by
Ono of subcutaneous RELISTOR in Japan.  Ono also has the option to
acquire from Progenics the rights to develop and commercialize in Japan other
formulations of RELISTOR, including intravenous and oral forms, on terms to be
negotiated separately.





“We are
delighted to be working with Ono, one of the leading Japanese pharmaceutical
companies, to make the benefits of RELISTOR available to patients in Japan – a
key market crucial to achieving worldwide access to this first-in-class
product,” said Paul J. Maddon, M.D., Ph.D., Progenics’ Founder, Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Science Officer. “Ono’s expertise in developing drugs for the
Japanese market enhances RELISTOR’s opportunity for commercial success there.
Together, our companies are committed to bringing this therapy to the many
patients in Japan who suffer from the debilitating side effects of opioid pain
medications.”










“We
already filed an antiemetic drug for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced
nausea and vomiting, and are developing anti-cancer biologics and cancer
anorexia/cachexia drug in oncology area.  We are glad to further
expand our oncology pipeline by in-licensing MNTX from Progenics.  We
will actively and quickly develop this important medication for patients in
Japan who suffer from opioid-induced constipation,” said Gyo Sagara, President,
Representative Director and CEO at Ono.





Ono’s
announcement concerning today’s agreement can be found at http://www.ono.co.jp/eng/default.htm.





About
the Progenics-Wyeth Worldwide Collaboration





Progenics
originally licensed to Wyeth worldwide rights to RELISTOR under their 2005
Collaboration Agreement. Wyeth has elected, as it is entitled to do under that
agreement, not to develop RELISTOR in Japan.  As a result, Japanese
rights to all formulations of RELISTOR previously granted to Wyeth have been
returned to Progenics, and Progenics is licensing those rights, as they relate
to the subcutaneous form of RELISTOR, to Ono. Wyeth retains its licensed rights
for RELISTOR elsewhere in the world. As a result of the return of the
Japanese rights, Progenics will not receive from Wyeth milestone payments that
were to be triggered by the development of RELISTOR formulations in
Japan.  These potential milestones would have totaled $22.5 million
(of which $7.5 million related to the subcutaneous formulation of RELISTOR and
the remainder to the intravenous and oral formulations).  Progenics
now has the potential to receive a total of $334 million in development and
commercialization milestone payments from Wyeth under the Collaboration
Agreement, of which $39 million have been paid to date.





Commercial
sales of subcutaneous RELISTOR under the Progenics-Wyeth collaboration began
earlier this year in the United States, Canada and Europe following
regulatory approvals in each of these regions.





About
Subcutaneous RELISTOR





RELISTOR,
administered via subcutaneous injection, is a peripherally acting mu-opioid
receptor antagonist that decreases the constipating effects of opioid pain
medications in the gastrointestinal tract without affecting their ability to
relieve pain. Each year, more than 1.5 million Americans receive palliative care
due to an advanced illness, such as incurable cancer and other end-stage
diseases.





In April,
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved RELISTOR subcutaneous injection
for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with advanced
illness who are receiving palliative care, when response to laxative therapy has
not been sufficient. The use of RELISTOR beyond four months has not been
studied. RELISTOR was made available in the United States in June. In March,
this form of RELISTOR was approved by Health Canada and was launched there in
May. In July, RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide) subcutaneous injection
received marketing approval from the European Commission, and is now approved in
the 27 member states of the E.U. as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein
for the treatment of OIC in advanced illness patients who are receiving
palliative care when response to usual laxative therapy has not been sufficient.
A marketing application for subcutaneous RELISTOR was submitted to the
Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration in August 2007 and is under review.
Other applications in additional countries are also pending.

















Important
Safety Information for Subcutaneous RELISTOR





·
            RELISTOR
      is contraindicated in patients with known or suspected mechanical
      gastrointestinal obstruction.


·
            If
      severe or persistent diarrhea occurs during treatment, advise patients to
      discontinue therapy with RELISTOR and consult their
    physician.


·
            Use
      of RELISTOR has not been studied in patients with peritoneal
      catheters.


·
            The
      most common adverse reactions reported with RELISTOR in clinical trials
      were abdominal pain, flatulence, and
nausea.


·
            Full
      RELISTOR Prescribing Information for the U.S. is available at www.relistor.com.





(PGNX-G)





About
the Company





Progenics Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., of Tarrytown, NY is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the
development and commercialization of innovative therapeutic products to treat
the unmet medical needs of patients with debilitating conditions and
life-threatening diseases. Principal programs are directed toward
gastroenterology, virology —including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and
hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections—and oncology. Progenics, in collaboration
with Wyeth, is developing RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide) for the treatment
of opioid-induced side effects. In the U.S., RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide)
subcutaneous injection is indicated for the treatment of opioid-induced
constipation (OIC) in patients with advanced illness who are receiving
palliative care, when response to laxative therapy has not been sufficient. In
Canada, RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide injection) for subcutaneous use is
indicated for the treatment of OIC in patients with advanced illness receiving
palliative care. In European member states, as well as Iceland, Norway and
Liechtenstein, RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide) subcutaneous injection is
indicated for the treatment of OIC in patients with advanced illness who are
receiving palliative care, when response to the usual laxative therapy has not
been sufficient. Marketing applications are pending for RELISTOR in Australia
and other countries. In the area of virology, Progenics is developing the HIV
entry inhibitor PRO 140, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the entry
co-receptor CCR5, which is currently in phase 2 clinical testing. Pre-clinical
programs for the development of novel HCV entry inhibitors are also underway. In
the area of oncology, the Company is developing a human monoclonal antibody-drug
conjugate (ADC) for the treatment of prostate cancer -- a selectively targeted
cytotoxic antibody directed against prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA),
which is currently in phase 1 clinical testing. PSMA is a protein found on the
surface of prostate cancer cells as well as in blood vessels supplying other
solid tumors. Progenics is also developing vaccines designed to treat prostate
cancer by stimulating an immune response to PSMA.




DISCLOSURE NOTICE: This document contains statements
that do not relate strictly to historical fact, any of which may be
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When we use the words
"anticipates," "plans," "expects" and similar expressions, we are identifying
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known andunknown risks and uncertainties which
may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. While
it is impossible to identify or predict all such matters, this may result from, among other things,
the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of, and expense associated
with, research, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our
products and product candidates, including the risks that clinical trials will not commence or
proceed as planned; products appearing promising in early trials will not
demonstrate efficacy or safety in larger-scale trials; clinical trial data on
our products and product candidates will be unfavorable; our products
willnot receive marketing approval from
regulators or, if approved, do not gain sufficient market acceptance to justify
development and commercialization costs; we, our collaborators or others might
identify side effects after the product is on the market; orefficacy or safety concerns
regarding marketed products, whether or not originating from subsequent testing
or other activities by us, governmental regulators, other entities or
organizations or otherwise, and whether or not scientifically justified,
maylead to product recalls, withdrawals
of marketing approval, reformulation of the product, additional pre-clinical
testing or clinical trials, changes in labeling of the product, the need for
additional marketing applications, declining sales or other adverse events.









We
are also subject to risks and uncertainties associated with the actions of our
corporate, academic and other collaborators and government regulatory agencies;
potential product liability; intellectual property, litigation, environmental
and other risks; the risk that licenses to intellectual property may be
terminated for our failure to satisfy performance milestones; the risk of
difficulties in, and regulatory compliance relating to, manufacturing products;
and the uncertainty of our future profitability.




Risks
and uncertainties also include general economic conditions, including interest
and currency exchange rate fluctuations and the availability of capital; changes
in generally accepted accounting principles; the impact of legislation and
regulatory compliance; the highly regulated nature of our business, including
government cost-containment initiatives and restrictions on third-party payments
for our products; trade buying patterns; the competitive climate of our
industry; and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and
other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In
particular, we cannot assure you that RELISTOR will be commercially successful
or be approved in the future in other formulations, indications or
jurisdictions, or that any of our other programs will result in a commercial
product.




We
do not have a policy of updating or revising forward-looking statements and
assume no obligation to update any statements as a result of new information or
future events or developments. Thus, it should not be assumed that our silence
over time means that actual events are bearing out as expressed or implied in
forward-looking statements.




###





Editor’s
Note:


Additional
information on Progenics is available at http://www.progenics.com.


Additional
information on Ono is available at
http://www.ono.co.jp/eng/default.htm.