RXi Pharmaceuticals’ Common Stock to Commence Trading under the Symbol “RXII”

Public Listing Marks Completion of Spin-off into Independent, Publicly-Traded Company

WORCESTER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (OTCBB: RXII.OB) announced today that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., also known as FINRA, has approved RXi Pharmaceuticals’ common stock for trading under the stock symbol “RXII” on the OTC Bulletin Board. RXi Pharmaceuticals anticipates its stock will be eligible for trading commencing today, May 10, 2012.

“With our increased focus as an independent company, we intend to work hard to create value for our shareholders through the advancement of RXi’s robust platform.”

The listing of RXi Pharmaceuticals’ stock marks the completion of its spin-off into an independent, publicly-traded company from former parent Galena Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:GALE). The spin-off transaction was previously announced by Galena in September 2011, and, on April 26, 2012, Galena paid a dividend of one share of RXi Pharmaceuticals common stock for each outstanding share of Galena common stock.

“We are pleased to announce the public listing of our common stock and the completion of our spin-off into an independent company,” commented Geert Cauwenbergh, Dr. Med. Sc., newly appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of RXi Pharmaceuticals. “With our increased focus as an independent company, we intend to work hard to create value for our shareholders through the advancement of RXi’s robust platform.”

World Trade Financial Corporation is acting as the initial market maker for the trading of RXi Pharmaceuticals’ common stock. World Trade Financial Corporation can be contacted at [phone] or at www.worldtradefinancial.com.

About RXi Pharmaceuticals

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (OTCBB: RXII.OB) is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies based on its proprietary, next-generation RNAi platform. Therapeutics that use RNA interference, or “RNAi,” have great promise because of their ability to “silence,” or down-regulate, the expression of a specific gene that may be overexpressed in a disease condition. Building on the pioneering work of scientific founder and Nobel Laureate Dr. Craig Mello, RXi’s first RNAi product candidate, RXI-109, which targets CTGF (connective tissue growth factor), is scheduled to commence human clinical trials for scar prevention in 2012. For more information, please visit www.rxipharma.com.

About Galena Biopharma

Galena Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: GALE) is a Portland, Oregon-based, biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative, targeted oncology treatments that address major unmet medical needs to advance cancer care. For more information please visit us at www.galenabiopharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future expectations, plan and future development of RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation’s products and technologies. These forward-looking statements about future expectations, plans and prospects of the development of RXi’s products and technologies involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risk that RXi may not be able to successfully develop its candidates, the risk that the development of our RNAi-based therapeutics may be delayed or may not proceed as planned and we may not be able to complete development of any RNAi-based product, the risk that the development process for our product candidates may be delayed, risks related to development and commercialization of products by our competitors, risks related to our ability to control the timing and terms of collaborations with third parties and the possibility that other companies or organizations may assert patent rights that prevent us from developing our products. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. RXi does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.