Investor Contact: Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Eric Bjerkholt 650-266-3717 Media Contact: Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dan Weinseimer 650-266-3739 Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2008 Finan

Pharmaceuticals Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2008

Conference Call Scheduled for Today at 5:00 p.m. EDT --

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif (April 1,

2009) - Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNSS) today

reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year

ended December 31, 2008.

revenue for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $5.4 million, with a net loss

of $37.2 million. As of December 31, 2008, cash, cash equivalents and

marketable securities totaled $10.6 million, with no outstanding debt. Sunesis

Pharmaceuticals separately announced today the execution of a securities

purchase agreement with accredited investors, including certain members of

management, providing for a private placement, subject to the satisfaction

of conditions, of up to $43.5 million in a tranched financing, including two

tranches of units consisting of convertible preferred stock and common stock

warrants, and a tranche of common stock.

management will host a conference call today to review the fourth quarter

and full-year 2008 financial results and the private placement transaction

separately announced today and to provide a general business update at 5:00

p.m. EDT / 2:00 p.m. PDT. Individual and institutional investors can access

the call via 1-877-874-1567 (U.S. and Canada) or +1- 719-325-4788

(international). To access the live audio webcast or the subsequent archived

recording, visit the "Investors and Media - Calendar of Events" section of the

Sunesis website at www.sunesis.com. The

webcast will be recorded and available for replay on Sunesis' website until

is a first-in-class anticancer quinolone derivative, or AQD, a class of

compounds that has not been used previously for the treatment of cancer.

Voreloxin both intercalates DNA and inhibits topoisomerase II, resulting in

replication-dependent, site-selective DNA damage, G2 arrest and apoptosis.

Voreloxin is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial (known as the

REVEAL-1 trial) in previously untreated elderly AML patients and in a Phase 1b/2

clinical trial combining voreloxin with cytarabine for the treatment of patients

with relapsed/refractory AML, as well as in an ongoing Phase 2 single-agent

trial in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia

rapidly progressing cancer of the blood characterized by the uncontrolled

proliferation of immature blast cells in the bone marrow. The Leukemia and

Lymphoma Society estimates that over 13,000 new cases of AML were diagnosed and

approximately 9,000 deaths from AML occurred in the U.S. during 2007. AML is

generally a disease of older adults, and the median age of a patient diagnosed

with AML is about 67 years. A majority of elderly patients are not considered

candidates for standard induction therapy or decline therapy, resulting in an

acute need for new treatment options.

United States, ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from

gynecologic malignancies and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death overall

in women behind lung, breast, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. According to

the American Cancer Society, in 2008 there were an estimated 21,650 new cases

and more than 15,000 deaths from ovarian cancer in the U.S. alone. Following

frontline treatment, recurrence rates among ovarian cancer patients are high.

Treatment options remain limited following relapse, and overall long-term

survival has not changed significantly over the past 40 years, with five-year

survival rates at less than 30 percent.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals

is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization

of new oncology therapeutics for the treatment of hematologic and solid cancers.

Sunesis has built a highly experienced cancer drug development organization

committed to advancing its lead product candidate, voreloxin, in multiple

indications to improve the lives of people with cancer. For

additional information on Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, please visit http://www.sunesis.com.

press release contains forward-looking statements, including without limitation

statements related to the potential safety, efficacy and commercial potential of

voreloxin; planned additional clinical testing and development efforts for

voreloxin; the timing of enrollment in the ongoing clinical trials of voreloxin;

and the sufficiency of Sunesis' cash resources. Words such as "contributed,"

"positive", "potential," "believe," "achieved," "interim,"

"suggests," "improved," "show," "encouraging," "well tolerated" and

similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These

forward-looking statements are based upon Sunesis' current expectations.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Sunesis' actual

results and the timing of events could differ materially from those

anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and

uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to the

satisfaction of the conditions to the completion of the financing transaction

announced today and Sunesis' need for additional funding; the risk that Sunesis'

development activities for voreloxin, including enrollment and reporting of

results, could be halted significantly or delayed for various reasons; the risk

that Sunesis' clinical trials for voreloxin may not demonstrate safety or

efficacy or lead to regulatory approval; the risk that preliminary data and

trends may not be predictive of future data or results; the risk that Sunesis'

preclinical studies and clinical trials may not satisfy the requirements of the

FDA or other regulatory agencies; and risks related to the conduct of Sunesis'

clinical trials and manufacturing. These and other risk factors are discussed

under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Sunesis' Quarterly Report on Form

10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, Current Report on Form 8-K

anticipated to be filed on the date of this press release and other filings with

the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sunesis expressly disclaims any

obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any

forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the

company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions

or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

and the logo are trademarks of Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

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