Oncothyreon announces public common stock offering

SEATTLE, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Oncothyreon Inc. (Nasdaq: ONTY)
(TSX: ONY), a biotechnology company specializing in the development of
innovative therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, announced today
that it intends to offer 5,100,000 shares of its common stock in a
fully-underwritten, public offering. Oncothyreon expects to begin marketing
the offering in the second week of September. The closing price of
Oncothyreon's common stock on The NASDAQ Global Market on August 29, 2008 was
$2.34. The per share offering price to the public will be determined based on
market conditions. Oncothyreon intends to use the net proceeds from this
offering for general corporate purposes, including research and product
development, such as funding pre-clinical studies and clinical trials and
otherwise moving product candidates towards commercialization. Boenning &
Scattergood, Inc. will act as the book-running manager for the transaction.
A registration statement relating to these securities (File # 333-149837) has
been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press
release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer
to buy nor, shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in
which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to
registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such
jurisdiction. Any offer of these securities will be solely by means of a
prospectus included in the registration statement and any prospectus
supplement that may be issued with respect to such offering. Copies of the
preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus can be obtained
at the Securities and Exchange Commission's website, www.sec.gov, or from
Oncothyreon at its Seattle, Washington address below.
Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying
prospectus related to the offering can also be obtained from Boenning &
Scattergood, Inc. at 4 Tower Bridge 200 Barr Harbor Drive, Suite 300 West
Conshohocken, PA 19428; Tel: (610) 684-5427; Fax: (610) 832-0520; Attn: Joyce
Englehart.

About Oncothyreon

Oncothyreon is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of
innovative therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer.

Forward-Looking Statements

In order to provide our investors with an understanding of our current
condition and future prospects, this release contains statements that are
forward-looking. Any statements contained in this press release that are not
statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.
Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will,"
"intends," "potential," "possible" and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include
statements related to the offering of securities by us. Forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties related to our business and the
general economic environment, many beyond our control. These risks,
uncertainties and other factors could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, including the
risks associated with the availability and adequacy of financing our financial
condition and results of operations, general economic factors, achievement of
the results we anticipate from our clinical trials with our products and our
ability to adequately obtain and protect our intellectual property rights.
Although we believe that the forward-looking statements contained herein are
reasonable, we can give no assurance that our expectations are correct. All
forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement. For a detailed description of our risks and
uncertainties, you are encouraged to review the official corporate documents
filed with the securities regulators in the United States on EDGAR and in
Canada on SEDAR. Oncothyreon does not undertake any obligation to publicly
update its forward-looking statements based on events or circumstances after
the date hereof.

SOURCE Oncothyreon Inc.

Investor and Media Relations Contact: Julie Rathbun, Rathbun Communications,
(206) 769-9219, ir@oncothyreon.com