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                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.1



                                  CERTIFICATION

      I, Colin Goddard, certify that:

      1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of OSI
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.;

      2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

      3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the
financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as
of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

      4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

            a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
  disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
  ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its
  consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
  entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being
  prepared;

            b) [paragraph omitted pursuant to SEC Release Nos. 33-8238 and
  34-47986];

            c) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
  controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
  effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the
  period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

            d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
  control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most
  recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of
  an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
  materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting;
  and
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      5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to
the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

            a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
            design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
            which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's
            ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
            information; and

            b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control
over financial reporting.




Date:  August 9, 2005


                                          /s/ Colin Goddard, PH.D.
                                          ------------------------
                                          Colin Goddard, Ph.D.
                                          Chief Executive Officer