Cellectar Biosciences, Inc.: Appoints industry veteran Caruso president and chief executive officer

Dr. Simon Pedder to retire

MADISON, Wis. — Cellectar Biosciences,
Inc. (Nasdaq:CLRB), today announces that James V. Caruso was appointed
as president and chief executive officer yesterday, replacing Dr. Simon
Pedder who has retired due to personal family reasons. Mr. Caruso was
also named to Cellectar’s Board as a Director.

Mr. Caruso, 56, brings more than 25 years of industry experience to the
role, having served most recently as executive vice president, chief
operating officer and co-founder of HIP Innovation Technology, LLC. He
previously held positions as executive vice president, chief commercial
officer at Allos Therapeutics, senior V.P., sales and marketing at Bone
Care International, as well as a variety of sales and marketing
leadership positions at Novartis, Bristol Myers-Squibb and BASF. At
both Allos Therapeutics and Bone Care International, Mr. Caruso worked
closely with current Cellectar director Paul Berns, contributing
significantly to those companies’ successful growth, which led to
acquisitions by Spectrum and Genzyme, respectively. Mr. Caruso brings a
wide range of expertise in both drugs and devices, including a strong
background in oncology. He holds a B.S. in finance from the University
of Nevada.

“Jim’s appointment comes at a critical time in the evolution and growth
of Cellectar,” said Dr. Stephen Hill, chairman of Cellectar’s board of
directors. “He brings a level of energy and commitment, combined with
his significant industry experience that I am confident will enable
Cellectar to achieve the potential we all believe is inherent in its
technology.”

“Cellectar presents an important opportunity in the market and I look
forward to collaborating with the team to achieve defined corporate
objectives, including the optimization of our novel PLE platform
technology and advancing our innovative therapeutic and diagnostic
agents through the clinic,” said Mr. Caruso.

Dr. Simon Pedder has resigned as CEO and president, and as a director
of Cellectar, and will retire from full-time employment. Cellectar’s
Board of Directors and shareholders thank him for the leadership he
provided since October 2013.

Cellectar also announces the appointment of Stefan Loren, Ph.D. as an
independent Director. Dr. Loren, 51, is the founder of Loren Capital
Strategy (LCS), a start-up firm investing in and advising public and
private health care companies. Prior to LCS, Dr. Loren held the
position of managing director at Westwicke Partners, developing and
executing capital markets, business development and investor relations
strategies. He is currently a director at GenVec and Marina
Biosciences.

“The breadth and depth of Dr. Loren’s experience in the biotechnology
space, along with his experience in strategic planning and investor
relations, will add greatly to the board’s expertise and oversight,”
said Dr. Hill.

Grant of Inducement Option

Cellectar has granted to Mr. Caruso, effective as of his first day of
employment with Cellectar an option to purchase 375,000 shares of
Cellectar’s common stock at an exercise price per share equal to the
closing price of Cellectar’s common stock on the grant date as reported
by NASDAQ. This grant was approved by both the Compensation Committee
of Cellectar’s Board of Directors and the full Board of Directors and
made as an inducement material to Mr. Caruso entering into employment
with Cellectar as contemplated by NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The stock option, which has a 10-year term, vests and becomes
exercisable as to 25% of the underlying shares on June 15, 2016 and on
each anniversary of Mr. Caruso’s employment date thereafter, subject in
each case to Mr. Caruso’s continuous service with Cellectar through the
applicable vesting date. The unvested portion of the stock option is
subject to acceleration and full vesting if the employment of Mr.
Caruso is terminated without “cause” or if he terminates his employment
for “good reason,” in each case within 12 months following, or in
connection with but prior to, a “change in control” (as all such terms
are defined in Mr. Caruso’s employment agreement with Cellectar) of
Cellectar.

Cellectar is providing this information in accordance with NASDAQ
Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

About Cellectar Biosciences, Inc.

Cellectar Biosciences is developing agents to detect, treat and monitor
a broad spectrum of cancers. Using a novel phospholipid ether analog
(PLE) platform technology as a targeted delivery and retention vehicle,
Cellectar’s compounds are designed to be selectively taken up and
retained in cancer cells, including in cancer stem cells. With the
ability to attach both imaging and therapeutic agents to its
proprietary delivery platform, Cellectar has developed a portfolio of
Phase I and Phase II product candidates engineered to leverage the
unique characteristics of cancer cells to “find, treat and follow”
malignancies in a highly selective way. For additional information
please visit www.cellectar.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements. You can identify
these statements by our use of words such as “may,” “expect,”
“believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “estimate,” “continue,”
“plans,” or their negatives or cognates. These statements are only
estimates and predictions and are subject to known and unknown risks
and uncertainties that may cause actual future experience and results
to differ materially from the statements made. These statements are
based on our current beliefs and expectations as to such future
outcomes. Drug discovery and development involve a high degree of risk.
Factors that might cause such a material difference include, among
others, uncertainties related to the ability to raise additional
capital, uncertainties related to the ability to attract and retain
partners for our technologies, the identification of lead compounds,
the successful preclinical development thereof, the completion of
clinical trials, the FDA review process and other government
regulation, our pharmaceutical collaborators’ ability to successfully
develop and commercialize drug candidates, competition from other
pharmaceutical companies, product pricing and third-party
reimbursement. A complete description of risks and uncertainties
related to our business is contained in our periodic reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission including our Form 10-K/A for
the year ended December 31, 2014. These forward-looking statements are
made only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to
update any such forward-looking statements.