OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals to Webcast ASCO Reception on May 30, 2009

BOTHELL, WA and VANCOUVER, May 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - OncoGenex
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGXI) announced today that the Company will
hold a live webcast and conference call of presentations made at an OncoGenex
hosted reception during the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual
Meeting (ASCO) on Saturday, May 30, 2009. The webcast will begin at 7:10 p.m.
EDT.
During the reception, OncoGenex management and guest speakers will provide a
comprehensive review of the final results of a randomized Phase 2 trial
presented during an oral presentation at the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, as well as discuss the treatment landscape and
the relevance of clinical trial endpoints for prostate cancer.

Guest speakers include:

Dr. Kim Chi, OGX-011 Principal Investigator, BC Cancer Agency
Dr. Oliver Sartor, Medical Oncologist, Tulane Medical School
Dr. Tomasz Beer, Medical Oncologist, Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Brent Blumenstein, Independent Statistician, Trial Architecture
Consulting
Dr. Martin Gleave, Distinguished Professor, Department of Urologic
Sciences, University of British Columbia and Chief Scientific Officer,
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

To access the webcast, log on to the Investor Relations page of the OncoGenex
Web site at www.oncogenex.com. Alternatively, you may access the live
conference call by dialing 877-627-6544 (U.S. & Canada) or 719-325-4857
(International). A webcast replay will be available approximately two hours
after the call and will be archived at www.oncogenex.com.

About OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the
development and commercialization of new therapies that address unmet needs in
the treatment of cancer. OncoGenex has a deep oncology pipeline, with each
product candidate having a distinct mechanism of action and representing a
unique opportunity for cancer drug development. OGX-011, the lead candidate
currently completing five Phase 2 clinical studies in prostate, lung and
breast cancers, is designed to inhibit the production of a specific protein
associated with treatment resistance; OGX-427 is in Phase 1 clinical
development; SN2310 has completed enrollment in a Phase 1 clinical trial; and
CSP-9222 and OGX-225 are currently in pre-clinical development. More
information is available at www.oncogenex.com.

SOURCE OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

OncoGenex Contact: Scott Cormack, President & CEO, (604) 736-3678,
scormack@oncogenex.com; Media and Investor Contact: Jason Spark, Porter
Novelli Life Sciences, (619) 849-6005, jspark@pnlifesciences.com