ZIOPHARM REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2009

REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND

YEAR 2009 FINANCIAL RESULTS

NEW YORK, NY - March 17, 2010

- ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP), a biopharmaceutical company that is

seeking to develop and commercialize a diverse, risk sensitive portfolio of

in-licensed cancer drugs addressing unmet medical needs, announced today its

financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2009, and the filing of

its Annual Report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Summary financials for the fourth quarter and for the year are

Company reported net income of $1.0 million, or $0.03 per share for the quarter

ended December 31, 2009, compared to a net loss of 4.6 million, or $(0.21) per

share, in the fourth quarter of 2008. Without the recognition of a non-cash gain

of $5.0 million attributable to the change in liability-classified warrants,

there was a net loss of $4.0 million, or $(0.14) per share, for the fourth

quarter ended December 31, 2009. Net loss for the year was $7.6 million, or

$(0.33) per share, compared to $25.2 million, or $(1.19) per share, for the full

year 2008. Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter decreased by $536

thousand compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. The significant decrease in

operating expenses is attributable to a continued focus on resources as well as

tight management of operating expenses. Total operating expense for the year was

$12.1 million, compared to $25.6 million for 2008, or a decrease of $13.5

million. The Company ended the December 2009 quarter with cash of approximately

$48.8 million that, under current assumptions which are subject to change, is

expected to support operations early into the first quarter of

the fourth quarter, the Company completed an underwritten offering of its common

stock and warrants resulting in net proceeds of approximately $45.3 million

after paying offering expenses of approximately $2.8 million.

Company's clinical programs continued to progress in 2009 as permitted by

available financial resources. Our principal focus following recent completion

of financing transactions in both the third and fourth quarters of 2009 remains

the development of intravenous palifosfamide for the treatment of soft tissue

sarcoma ("STS"). A randomized Phase

II multicenter, parallel group, randomized study of palIfosfamide

tris plus doxorubicin versus doxorubiCin

in subjects with unresectAble

(PICASSO) is ongoing in the front- and second-line setting of STS. The Company

reported favorable interim results from the PICASSO trial that were subsequently

presented at the 2009 Connective Tissue Oncology Society's ("CTOS") annual

meeting after enrollment in the trial was terminated early at 67

patients. Following U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and

European Medicines Agency ("EMA") protocol review, the Company expects to

initiate a global registration trial in STS as early as the first half of 2010.

The Company is also in dialogue with FDA related to intravenous Phase II

darinaparsin (ZinaparTM or

ZIO-101) study results in lymphoma, and following an evaluation of various

alternatives in light of our principal focus on palifosfamide development, we

expect to initiate a planned registration and other trials for intravenous

darinaparsin. A Phase I trial for an oral form of darinaparsin is in progress

and early results were reported at ASCO in 2009. With respect to the Company's

third product candidate, indibulin (ZybulinTM or

ZIO-301), we expect a Phase I portion of a Phase I/II study in breast cancer

involving a "dose dense" administration schedule developed preclinically by our

consultant, Dr. Larry Norton, will initiate in the first half of 2010 at the

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.:

biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of a

diverse portfolio of cancer drugs. The Company is currently focused on three

ZIO-201) references a novel composition (tris formulation) that comprises the

functional active metabolite of ifosfamide, a standard of care for treating

sarcoma, lymphoma, testicular, and other cancers. Palifosfamide delivers

only the cancer fighting component of ifosfamide. It is expected to overcome the

resistance seen with ifosfamide and cyclophosphamide, two of the most commonly

used DNA-alkylating drugs used to treat cancers. Palifosfamide does not have the

toxic metabolites of ifosfamide that cause the debilitating side effects of

"fuzzy brain" (encephalopathy) and severe bladder inflammation. It

may also have other advantages. Intravenous palifosfamide is

currently in a randomized Phase II trial to treat unresectable or metastatic

soft tissue sarcoma in the front- and second-line setting with the Company

having reported interim positive results in late 2009; a registration trial in

the same setting is expected to initiate following U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) review in the first half of this year. An oral form of

palifosfamide has been developed preclinically to the investigational new drug

mitochondrial-targeted agent (organic arsenic) being developed for the treatment

of various hematologic and solid cancers. Preclinical and clinical studies to

date have demonstrated that darinaparsin is considerably less toxic than

inorganic arsenic, particularly with regard to cardiac toxicity. The Company has

reported favorable results from a Phase II trial with IV-administered

darinaparsin in lymphoma, particularly peripheral T-cell lymphoma ("PTCL"), at

the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in May of 2009 which would

serve as the basis for ongoing clinical study in PTCL following regulatory

review and available financial resources Phase I trials with the oral form are

ongoing in both hematological malignancies and solid tumors.

novel, oral tubulin binding agent that targets both mitosis and cancer cell

migration. In addition, indibulin is expected to have several potential

benefits, including oral dosing, application in multi-drug resistant tumors, no

neuropathy and minimal overall toxicity. In multiple Phase I trials

in cancer patients, oral indibulin has been administered both as a single agent

and in combination with favorable activity and a promising safety profile that

does not include the neurotoxicity seen with all of the other classes of tubulin

binding agents. Most recently, results of oral indibulin in combination with

oral capecitabine (Xeloda ) were

presented at last year's American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) along with

the preclinical findings of a novel dosing schedule conducted under the

direction of Dr. Larry Norton; employing this dosage schedule, the Company

expects to initiate a Phase I study early this year in breast cancer patients

with the breast team at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

operations are located in Boston, MA with an executive office in New York

information about ZIOPHARM may be found at www.ziopharm.com.

Safe Harbor Statement:

press release contains forward-looking statements for ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.