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Exhibit 99.35
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<S>                                       <C>  
Contact:   Jerry B. Hook, Ph.D.           Martin Rose, M.D., J.D.
           Chairman, President & CEO      Vice President, Clinical & Regulatory Affairs
           Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.   Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
           (215) 442-1700, Ext. 205       (215) 442-1700, Ext. 219
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http://www.spartapharma.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                $850,000 Awarded to Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

                Second Major SBIR Grant Awarded Within 12 Months

Horsham, PA, September 22, 1998, Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPTA,
SPTAD, SPTAU, SPTUD, SPTAW, SPTAZ, SPTAL AND SPTLD) announces that the Company
has been awarded a Phase I/II Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) Grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The Fast-Track initiative
is designed to expedite the decision and award of SBIR Phase II funding for
projects that have high potential for commercialization. This is the second
major SBIR grant to be received by Sparta in the past twelve months. Both awards
total $1.6 million.

This $850,000 grant will be received over two and one half years. This grant
entitled "Development of IPdR as a Radiation Sensitizing Drug" will provide
funds for the Company's prodrug of IUdR, which has the potential to benefit most
patients who receive radiation therapy for cancer. The specific goals of the
grant are to take IPdR through toxicology studies and the first two years of
clinical trials.

Sparta anticipates that the Phase I trial will begin in six months. This trial
will be conducted at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland under the
guidance of Dr. Timothy Kinsella, Professor and Chairman of Radiation Oncology.

Following oral administration, IPdR (5-iodo-pyrimidinone-2'-deoxyribose, a
nucleoside analogue) is converted by aldehyde oxidase into IUdR within the liver
and is then released into the blood stream. IUdR is under investigation by the
NCI as a potential agent to sensitize cancer cells to radiation, and has been
studied in humans for a number of years. IUdR is currently available only in
intravenous form and is toxic to the bone marrow and gastrointestinal system.
The IPdR compound is orally active and animal studies have shown that by
administering IPdR, the same radiation sensitizing effects can be achieved as
with IUdR, with less toxicity.

IPdR is licensed to Sparta by The State University of New York at Stonybrook.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are made based on management's current
expectations and beliefs, and actual results may vary from those currently







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anticipated based upon a number of factors, including uncertainties inherent in
the drug development process, including the success and timing of clinical
trials and the receipt of necessary approvals by the FDA. The Company undertakes
no obligation to release publicly any revisions which may be made to reflect
events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Sparta is a development stage pharmaceutical company engaged in the business of
acquiring rights to, and developing for commercialization, technologies and
drugs for the treatment of a number of life threatening diseases including
cancer, cardiovascular disorders, chronic metabolic diseases and inflammation.
The Company has focused on acquiring compounds that have been previously tested
in humans and animals and technologies that may improve the delivery or
effectiveness of previously tested, and in some cases marketed, drugs. Sparta's
portfolio of compounds in development includes three potential oncology products
and one for the treatment of Type II diabetes in clinical trials and an emerging
platform technology in recombinant and small molecule protease inhibitors.

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