DUBLIN, Calif., Aug. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Astex
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASTX), a pharmaceutical company dedicated
to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics,
today announced that its president and director, Harren Jhoti, PhD,
will be presented with the 2012 Prous Institute-Overton and Meyer Award
for New Technologies in Drug Discovery by the European Federation for
Medicinal Chemistry. The biennial award recognizes research and
innovation with respect to technology in drug discovery.

"I am honored to be bestowed this award by the Executive Committee of
the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry," said Dr. Jhoti. "This
award recognizes the leading position that the Astex team has
established in fragment-based drug discovery, a technique now widely
used by the pharmaceutical sector to discover high quality drug
candidates. It is my hope that our contributions to fragment-based drug
discovery will help to produce effective medicines."

Dr. Jhoti will be presented with the award at the 2012 meeting of the
European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry - International Symposium
on Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC-ISMC) in Berlin, Germany September 2 - 6,
2012, and will give a keynote lecture.

About Harren Jhoti, PhD

Dr. Harren Jhoti has served as Astex Pharmaceuticals president and
member of the Board of Directors since the company's formation in July
2011. He co-founded Astex Therapeutics in 1999 and was chief scientific
officer until November 2007 when he was appointed chief executive. Dr.
Jhoti was named by the Royal Society of Chemistry as "Chemistry World
Entrepreneur of the Year" for 2007. He has published widely including
in leading journals such as Nature and Science and has also been
featured in TIME magazine after being named by the World Economic Forum
a Technology Pioneer in 2005. Dr. Jhoti served as a non-executive
director of Iconix Inc. Before starting up Astex Therapeutics in 1999,
he was head of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics at GlaxoWellcome
in the United Kingdom (1991-1999). Prior to Glaxo, Dr. Jhoti was a
post-doctoral scientist at Oxford University. He received a BSc (Hons)
in Biochemistry in 1985 and a PhD in Protein Crystallography from the
University of London in 1989.

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to the discovery and development of
novel small molecule therapeutics with a focus on oncology. The Company
is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and is creating
de-risked products for partnership with leading pharmaceutical
companies. Astex Pharmaceuticals developed Dacogen(R) (decitabine) for
Injection and receives significant royalties on global sales.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., please visit
http://www.astx.com.

The Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=12273


CONTACT: Timothy L. Enns
         Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
         Senior Vice President
         Corporate Communications & Marketing
         Tel:  +1 (925) 560-2810
         E-mail:  tim.enns@astx.com
         
         Alan Roemer
         The Trout Group
         Managing Director
         Tel:  +1 (646) 378-2945
         E-mail: aroemer@troutgroup.com
         
         Susanna Chau
         Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
         Manager
         Investor Relations
         Tel:  +1 (925) 560-2845
         E-mail:  susanna.chau@astx.com
         
         Kari Watson
         MacDougall Biomedical Communications
         Senior Vice President
         Tel: +1 (781) 235-3060
         E-mail: kwatson@macbiocom.com