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Exhibit 99.16

Contact:  Jerry B. Hook, Ph.D.                  Ronald H. Spair
          President & Chief Executive officer   CFO
          Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.          Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
          (215) 442-1700, Ext. 205              (215) 442-1700, Ext. 207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Initiation of SpartajectTM Busulfan
                     Human Clinical Trial in London, England

       Horsham, PA, July 8, 1997, Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPTA,
SPTAU, SPTAW, SPTAZ AND SPTAL) announces initiation of Phase I clinical trial
using SpartajectTM busulfan in bone marrow transplant patients, at Hammersmith
Hospital in London, England, under the direction of Orphan Europe SARL, which
will be coordinating the trial at Hammersmith Hospital.

Sparta has previously established collaborative arrangements with Orphan Europe
SARL, Paris, and Swedish Orphan, AB, Stockholm, for the exclusive testing,
registration and distribution of Spartaject busulfan in Europe and the Nordic
countries. Under the agreement, Orphan Europe is the Company's exclusive
distributor in Western European countries outside of the Nordic countries and
will handle clinical testing and product registration for those countries.
Swedish Orphan will have similar rights and responsibilities for the Nordic
countries. Orphan Europe and Swedish Orphan are affiliated companies within a
global network of orphan pharmaceutical companies dedicated to the development,
registration, marketing and distribution of orphan products.

Dr. Jerry B. Hook, Sparta's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our
collaboration with Orphan Europe and Swedish Orphan is intended to accelerate
European development of busulfan and will shorten the time before patients can
have access to this technology."

Sparta's U.S. clinical trials for busulfan began on March 24 of this year at
Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. An additional center will be added soon in this
country.

 Sparta's new intravenous form of busulfan is to be used as a myeloablative
agent in patients being prepared for bone marrow transplant. SpartajectTM
technology allows for the injection of water insoluble drugs without the use of
solubilizing agents which may be irritating or cause other unwanted side
reactions.

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
anticipated based upon a number of factors, including uncertainties inherent in
the drug development process, including clinical trials. The Company undertakes
no obligation


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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 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 targeting of previously tested,
and in some cases marketed, anticancer agents. Sparta's foundation in cancer
chemotherapy has been augmented by the addition of new technology in the rapidly
expanding field of serine protease inhibitors. Serine protease inhibitors have
wide applications in diverse fields such as inflammation, reperfusion injury and
stroke.

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