<PAGE>   1
     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 1, 1997
                                                    Registration No. 333-

================================================================================
                
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D. C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8

                          REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                          TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS, INC.
               (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)


              DELAWARE                                    04-3174575
  (State or other jurisdiction of                      (I.R.S. Employer
   incorporation or organization)                    Identification Number)


    640 MEMORIAL DRIVE, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS               02139
      (Address of Principal Executive Offices)               (Zip Code)

                 AMENDED AND RESTATED 1994 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full title of the Plan)


                          HECTOR J. GOMEZ, M.D., Ph.D.
                             CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                          TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS, INC.
                               640 MEMORIAL DRIVE
                               CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (617) 374-1200
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
===================================================================================================
                          Number of       Proposed maximum      Proposed maximum       Amount of
Title of securities       Shares to        offering price      aggregate offering     registration
 to be registered       be Registered        per share              price                 fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 <S>                      <C>               <C>                   <C>                  <C>    
  Common Stock             736,197            $ 8.50(1)           $6,257,674.50        $1,897
 $.01 par value
===================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)   Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee,
      and based upon the average of the high and low prices of the Common
      Stock on the Nasdaq National Market on September 26,1997 in accordance 
      with Rules 457(c) and 457(h) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
<PAGE>   2
PART I. INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

         The information required by Part I is included in documents sent or
given to participants in the Amended and Restated 1994 Equity Incentive Plan of
Transcend Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Registrant"),
pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1).

PART II. INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference

         The Registrant is subject to the informational and reporting
requirements of Sections 13(a), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy
statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The following documents, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, are incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference:

                  (a)  The Registrant's latest annual report filed pursuant to
Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or either (1) the latest prospectus
filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act"), that contains audited financial statements for the
Registrant's latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed or (2)
the Registrant's effective registration statement on Form 10 or 20-F filed under
the Exchange Act containing audited financial statements for the Registrant's
latest fiscal year.

                  (b)  All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or
15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the
Registrant document referred to in (a) above.

                  (c)  The description of the Common Stock which is contained in
a registration statement filed under the Exchange Act, including any amendment
or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all shares offered hereby have been
sold or which deregisters all shares then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to
be incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference and to be a part
hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.  Description of Securities

         Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel


                                       2
<PAGE>   3
         Not Applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers

         Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer,
employee or agent of the corporation and certain other persons serving at the
request of the corporation in related capacities against amounts paid and
expenses incurred in connection with an action or proceeding to which he is or
is threatened to be made a party by reason of such position, if such person
shall have acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in
or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal
proceeding, if such person had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was
unlawful, provided that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of
the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any matter as
to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation
unless and only to the extent that the adjudicating court determines that such
indemnification is proper under the circumstances.

         Article EIGHTH of the Registrant's Second Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation (the "Certificate of Incorporation") provides that
no director shall be personally liable to the Registrant or its stockholders for
monetary damages for breach of his fiduciary duty as a director, except to the
extent that the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits the elimination or
limitation of liability of directors for breaches of fiduciary duty.

         Article NINTH of the Certificate of Incorporation provides that a
director or officer of the Registrant (a) shall be indemnified by the Registrant
against all expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts
paid in settlement incurred in connection with any litigation or other legal
proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the Registrant) brought,
or threatened to be brought, against him by virtue of his position as, or his
agreement to become, a director or officer of the Registrant or by virtue of his
serving, or agreeing to serve, at the request of the Registrant, as a director,
officer, or trustee of, or in a similar capacity with a corporation, trust or
other enterprise, if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably
believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Registrant, and,
with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to
believe his conduct was unlawful and (b) shall be indemnified by the Registrant
against all expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred in connection with any
action by or in the right of the Registrant brought, or threatened to be
brought, against him by virtue of his position as, or his agreement to become, a
director or officer of the Registrant or by virtue of his serving, or agreeing
to serve, at the request of the Registrant, as a director, officer, or trustee
of, or in a similar capacity with a corporation, trust or other enterprise, if
he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in, or not
opposed to, the best interests of the Registrant, except that no indemnification
shall be made with respect to any such matter 


                                       3
<PAGE>   4
as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Registrant,
unless a court determines that, despite such adjudication but in view of all of
the circumstances, he is entitled to indemnification of such expenses.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that a director or officer has been
successful, on the merits or otherwise, including, without limitation, the
dismissal of an action without prejudice or the settlement of an action without
admission of liability, he is required to be indemnified by the Registrant
against all expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred in connection
therewith. Expenses shall be advanced to a director or officer at his request,
provided that he undertakes to repay the amount advanced if it is ultimately
determined that he is not entitled to indemnification for such expenses.

         Indemnification is required to be made unless the Board of Directors of
the Registrant or independent legal counsel determines that the applicable
standard of conduct required for indemnification has not been met. In the event
of a determination by the Board of Directors or independent legal counsel (who
may be regular legal counsel to the Registrant) that the director or officer did
not meet the applicable standard of conduct required for indemnification, or if
the Registrant fails to make an indemnification payment within 60 days after
such payment is claimed by such person, such person is permitted to petition the
court to make an independent determination as to whether such person is entitled
to indemnification. As a condition precedent to the right of indemnification,
the director or officer must give the Registrant notice of the action for which
indemnity is sought and the Registrant has the right to participate in such
action or assume the defense thereof.

         Article NINTH of the Certificate of Incorporation further provides that
the indemnification provided therein is not exclusive, and provides that in the
event that the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to expand the
indemnification permitted to directors or officers, the Registrant must
indemnify those persons to the fullest extent permitted by such law as so
amended.

         The Company has a Directors and Officers liability policy that insures
the Company's officers and directors against certain liabilities.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed

         Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits

         The Exhibit Index immediately preceding the exhibits is attached hereto
and incorporated herein by reference.


                                       4
<PAGE>   5
Item 9.  Undertakings

         1.       The Registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (a) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement to include
any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement.

                  (b) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

                  (c) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

         2.       The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for 
purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of
the Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is
incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

         3.       Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.


                                       5
<PAGE>   6
                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Cambridge, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the
24th day of September, 1997.

                                            TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS, INC.




                                            By: /s/ Hector J. Gomez 
                                                ------------------------------
                                                Hector J. Gomez, M.D., Ph.D.
                                                Chief Executive Officer and
                                                President



                                        6
<PAGE>   7
                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

         We, the undersigned officers and directors of Transcend Therapeutics,
Inc., hereby severally constitute Hector J. Gomez, B. Nicholas Harvey and Steven
D. Singer, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full
power to them, and each of them singly, to sign for us and in our names in the
capacities indicated below, the Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed
herewith and any and all subsequent amendments to said Registration Statement,
and generally to do all such things in our names and behalf in our capacities as
officers and directors to enable Transcend Therapeutics, Inc. to comply with all
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming our signatures as they may be signed by said attorneys, or any of
them, to said Registration Statement and any and all amendments thereto.

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and
on the dates indicated.


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Signature                                Title                                     Date
---------                                -----                                     ----
<S>                        <C>                                                <C> 

/s/ Hector J. Gomez        Chief Executive Officer, President                 September 24, 1997
------------------------   and Director (Principal Executive Officer)
Hector J. Gomez            

/s/ B. Nicholas Harvey     Vice President, Finance and Chief                  September 24, 1997
------------------------   Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)
B. Nicholas Harvey         

                           Director                                           
------------------------
Philippe Chambon

                           Director                                           
------------------------
Frank L. Douglas

/s/ Richard W. Hunt        Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
Richard W. Hunt

/s/ Jerry T. Jackson       Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
Jerry T. Jackson

/s/ William C. Mills III   Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
William C. Mills III

/s/ Gerard M. Moufflet     Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
Gerard M. Moufflet
</TABLE>


                                        7
<PAGE>   8
                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit
Number         Description
------         -----------
<S>            <C>                         
 4.1(1)        Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the
               Registrant.

 4.2(1)        Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Registrant.

 5             Opinion of Hale and Dorr LLP.

23.1           Consent of Hale and Dorr LLP (included in Exhibit 5).

23.2           Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.

24             Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of this Registration
               Statement).
</TABLE>

----------
     (1)  Incorporated herein by reference from Exhibits 3.2 and 3.3 to the 
          Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-22817) 
          as declared effective by the Commission on July 2, 1997.
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS", "secsgml_size_bytes": 18432}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS INC", "cik": "0001020910", "assigned-sic": "2836", "irs-number": "043174575", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-36867", "film-number": "97689008"}, "business-address": {"street1": "640 MEMORIAL DR", "street2": "3W", "city": "CAMBRIDGE", "state": "MA", "zip": "02139", "phone": "6173741200"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "640 MEMORIAL DR", "street2": "3W", "city": "CAMBRIDGE", "state": "MA", "zip": "02139"}}
1
     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 1, 1997
                                                    Registration No. 333-

================================================================================
                
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D. C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8

                          REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                          TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS, INC.
               (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)

              DELAWARE                                    04-3174575
  (State or other jurisdiction of                      (I.R.S. Employer
   incorporation or organization)                    Identification Number)

    640 MEMORIAL DRIVE, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS               02139
      (Address of Principal Executive Offices)               (Zip Code)

                 AMENDED AND RESTATED 1994 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full title of the Plan)

                          HECTOR J. GOMEZ, M.D., Ph.D.
                             CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                          TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS, INC.
                               640 MEMORIAL DRIVE
                               CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (617) 374-1200
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
===================================================================================================
                          Number of       Proposed maximum      Proposed maximum       Amount of
Title of securities       Shares to        offering price      aggregate offering     registration
 to be registered       be Registered        per share              price                 fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock             736,197            $ 8.50(1)           $6,257,674.50        $1,897
 $.01 par value
===================================================================================================
(1)   Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee,
      and based upon the average of the high and low prices of the Common
      Stock on the Nasdaq National Market on September 26,1997 in accordance 
      with Rules 457(c) and 457(h) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
2
PART I. INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

         The information required by Part I is included in documents sent or
given to participants in the Amended and Restated 1994 Equity Incentive Plan of
Transcend Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Registrant"),
pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1).

PART II. INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference

         The Registrant is subject to the informational and reporting
requirements of Sections 13(a), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy
statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The following documents, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, are incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference:

                  (a)  The Registrant's latest annual report filed pursuant to
Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or either (1) the latest prospectus
filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act"), that contains audited financial statements for the
Registrant's latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed or (2)
the Registrant's effective registration statement on Form 10 or 20-F filed under
the Exchange Act containing audited financial statements for the Registrant's
latest fiscal year.

                  (b)  All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or
15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the
Registrant document referred to in (a) above.

                  (c)  The description of the Common Stock which is contained in
a registration statement filed under the Exchange Act, including any amendment
or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all shares offered hereby have been
sold or which deregisters all shares then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to
be incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference and to be a part
hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.  Description of Securities

         Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

                                       2
3
         Not Applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers

         Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer,
employee or agent of the corporation and certain other persons serving at the
request of the corporation in related capacities against amounts paid and
expenses incurred in connection with an action or proceeding to which he is or
is threatened to be made a party by reason of such position, if such person
shall have acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in
or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal
proceeding, if such person had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was
unlawful, provided that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of
the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any matter as
to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation
unless and only to the extent that the adjudicating court determines that such
indemnification is proper under the circumstances.

         Article EIGHTH of the Registrant's Second Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation (the "Certificate of Incorporation") provides that
no director shall be personally liable to the Registrant or its stockholders for
monetary damages for breach of his fiduciary duty as a director, except to the
extent that the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits the elimination or
limitation of liability of directors for breaches of fiduciary duty.

         Article NINTH of the Certificate of Incorporation provides that a
director or officer of the Registrant (a) shall be indemnified by the Registrant
against all expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts
paid in settlement incurred in connection with any litigation or other legal
proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the Registrant) brought,
or threatened to be brought, against him by virtue of his position as, or his
agreement to become, a director or officer of the Registrant or by virtue of his
serving, or agreeing to serve, at the request of the Registrant, as a director,
officer, or trustee of, or in a similar capacity with a corporation, trust or
other enterprise, if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably
believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Registrant, and,
with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to
believe his conduct was unlawful and (b) shall be indemnified by the Registrant
against all expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred in connection with any
action by or in the right of the Registrant brought, or threatened to be
brought, against him by virtue of his position as, or his agreement to become, a
director or officer of the Registrant or by virtue of his serving, or agreeing
to serve, at the request of the Registrant, as a director, officer, or trustee
of, or in a similar capacity with a corporation, trust or other enterprise, if
he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in, or not
opposed to, the best interests of the Registrant, except that no indemnification
shall be made with respect to any such matter 

                                       3
4
as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Registrant,
unless a court determines that, despite such adjudication but in view of all of
the circumstances, he is entitled to indemnification of such expenses.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that a director or officer has been
successful, on the merits or otherwise, including, without limitation, the
dismissal of an action without prejudice or the settlement of an action without
admission of liability, he is required to be indemnified by the Registrant
against all expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred in connection
therewith. Expenses shall be advanced to a director or officer at his request,
provided that he undertakes to repay the amount advanced if it is ultimately
determined that he is not entitled to indemnification for such expenses.

         Indemnification is required to be made unless the Board of Directors of
the Registrant or independent legal counsel determines that the applicable
standard of conduct required for indemnification has not been met. In the event
of a determination by the Board of Directors or independent legal counsel (who
may be regular legal counsel to the Registrant) that the director or officer did
not meet the applicable standard of conduct required for indemnification, or if
the Registrant fails to make an indemnification payment within 60 days after
such payment is claimed by such person, such person is permitted to petition the
court to make an independent determination as to whether such person is entitled
to indemnification. As a condition precedent to the right of indemnification,
the director or officer must give the Registrant notice of the action for which
indemnity is sought and the Registrant has the right to participate in such
action or assume the defense thereof.

         Article NINTH of the Certificate of Incorporation further provides that
the indemnification provided therein is not exclusive, and provides that in the
event that the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to expand the
indemnification permitted to directors or officers, the Registrant must
indemnify those persons to the fullest extent permitted by such law as so
amended.

         The Company has a Directors and Officers liability policy that insures
the Company's officers and directors against certain liabilities.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed

         Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits

         The Exhibit Index immediately preceding the exhibits is attached hereto
and incorporated herein by reference.

                                       4
5
Item 9.  Undertakings

         1.       The Registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (a) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement to include
any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement.

                  (b) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

                  (c) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

         2.       The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for 
purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of
the Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is
incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

         3.       Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       5
6
                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Cambridge, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the
24th day of September, 1997.

                                            TRANSCEND THERAPEUTICS, INC.

                                            By: /s/ Hector J. Gomez 
                                                ------------------------------
                                                Hector J. Gomez, M.D., Ph.D.
                                                Chief Executive Officer and
                                                President

                                        6
7
                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

         We, the undersigned officers and directors of Transcend Therapeutics,
Inc., hereby severally constitute Hector J. Gomez, B. Nicholas Harvey and Steven
D. Singer, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full
power to them, and each of them singly, to sign for us and in our names in the
capacities indicated below, the Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed
herewith and any and all subsequent amendments to said Registration Statement,
and generally to do all such things in our names and behalf in our capacities as
officers and directors to enable Transcend Therapeutics, Inc. to comply with all
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming our signatures as they may be signed by said attorneys, or any of
them, to said Registration Statement and any and all amendments thereto.

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and
on the dates indicated.
Signature                                Title                                     Date
---------                                -----                                     ----
/s/ Hector J. Gomez        Chief Executive Officer, President                 September 24, 1997
------------------------   and Director (Principal Executive Officer)
Hector J. Gomez            

/s/ B. Nicholas Harvey     Vice President, Finance and Chief                  September 24, 1997
------------------------   Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)
B. Nicholas Harvey         

                           Director                                           
------------------------
Philippe Chambon

                           Director                                           
------------------------
Frank L. Douglas

/s/ Richard W. Hunt        Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
Richard W. Hunt

/s/ Jerry T. Jackson       Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
Jerry T. Jackson

/s/ William C. Mills III   Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
William C. Mills III

/s/ Gerard M. Moufflet     Director                                           September 24, 1997
------------------------
Gerard M. Moufflet
7
8
                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit
Number         Description
------         -----------
4.1(1)        Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the
               Registrant.

 4.2(1)        Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Registrant.

 5             Opinion of Hale and Dorr LLP.

23.1           Consent of Hale and Dorr LLP (included in Exhibit 5).

23.2           Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.

24             Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of this Registration
               Statement).
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     (1)  Incorporated herein by reference from Exhibits 3.2 and 3.3 to the 
          Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-22817) 
          as declared effective by the Commission on July 2, 1997.