BUFFALO, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 05/18/09 -- Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI) today announced that new insights into the mechanism of action of the Company's first generation Curaxin anticancer compounds were published in one of the world's leading cancer journals, Oncogene (Guo et al., Oncogene, 2009, 28:1151-1161).

The published study uncovered additional molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer activity of the Company's prototype Curaxin (CBLC102, or quinacrine), which was previously known to involve simultaneous targeting of two key regulators of the controlled cell death process (p53 and NF-kappaB). It has now been shown that treatment of cancer cells with CBLC102 results in the inhibition of the molecular pathway (PI3K/Akt/mTOR) that is important for cancer cell survival and is considered to be a highly relevant anticancer treatment target.

Cleveland BioLabs Chief Scientific Officer and co-corresponding author, Andrei Gudkov, Ph.D., D. Sci., commented, "The inhibition of mTOR activity we found with Curaxin CBLC102 is also exhibited by a recently FDA approved cancer drug, temsirolimus, which showed efficacy against late stage renal cell carcinoma. While inhibition of mTOR is important, Curaxin compounds also combine this with other powerful mechanisms of anticancer activity. Simultaneous targeting of several molecular pathways, which are critically important for cancer development and progression, is a unique property of Curaxins. This attribute makes them very promising drug candidates that may be effective against a wide spectrum of human malignancies and reduces the risk of development of tumor resistance to this class of compounds. We are strongly encouraged by these results and believe that they further support the potential of our lead next generation Curaxin compound, CBLC137."

About Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.

Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. is a drug discovery and development company leveraging its proprietary discoveries around programmed cell death to develop treatments for cancer and protection of normal tissues from exposure to radiation and other stresses. The Company has strategic partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, ChemBridge Corporation and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. To learn more about Cleveland BioLabs, Inc., please visit the company's website at http://www.cbiolabs.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Some of the factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the "Risk Factors" described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2009.

Contact:
Rachel Levine
Director Corporate Development & Communications
Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.
T: (646) 284-9439
E: rlevine@cbiolabs.com