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EXHIBIT 99.30



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



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE





    Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Receives FDA Approval to Begin Phase II/III

                      SpartajectTM busulfan Clinical Trials





Horsham, PA, May 28, 1998, Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPTA, SPTAD,
SPTAU, SPTUD, SPTAW, SPTAZ, SPTAL AND SPTLD) announces that the FDA has accepted
the Company's plans to begin pivotal, Phase II/III human clinical trials using
the Company's SpartajectTM technology for the intravenous delivery of busulfan.
Busulfan, which has been used in oral form in cancer patients for many years, is
often used to remove the bone marrow prior to bone marrow transplant (BMT).
Sparta recently announced completion of the patient treatment phase of its Phase
I Spartaject busulfan clinical trial in adults.



Due to poor solubility in water, busulfan has been available only in tablets
containing a small amount of drug. Since BMT requires a high dosage, patients
must swallow an uncomfortably large number of tablets during treatment.
Furthermore, oral administration of busulfan may result in variability in the
amount of drug actually absorbed, leading to variable blood levels of busulfan,
which may promote serious toxicity or treatment failure. Sparta believes that an
intravenous form of busulfan may serve to overcome these limitations.



Approximately 11,000-12,000 patients in the U.S. receive bone marrow transplants
each year. The European market is believed to be of similar size. If approved,
Spartaject busulfan will be directed at this large and expanding market
opportunity. Administering busulfan intravenously rather than requiring patients
to take several dozen, if not a hundred or more, tablets day would be an
attractive treatment option.

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The Company's SpartajectTM Technology is a drug delivery system that
accommodates poorly water soluble and water insoluble compounds by encapsulating
fine particles with a fatty (phospholipid) layer, thereby permitting the
creation of a suspension of the drug, and allowing its intravenous injection
without the use of potentially toxic solubilizing agents. Recently, Sparta
announced that it had signed an agreement which grants Schering-Plough the right
to use the Spartaject technology as a drug delivery agent with Schering-Plough's
anti-cancer agent TEMODAL(R)(temozolomide). TEMODAL is currently in development
for the treatment of patients with recurrent malignant gliomas, such as
gliobastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma.



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 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 four 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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