Cornerstone Therapeutics Announces Management Change

CARY, N.C., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc.
(Nasdaq CM: CRTX), formerly known as Critical Therapeutics, Inc., a specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing
significant products primarily for the respiratory market, today announced the
departure of Scott B. Townsend, Esq., General Counsel and Executive Vice
President of Legal Affairs, effective June 5, 2009. The Company has already
begun a search for a successor.

"I would like to thank Scott for his contributions to the Company during his
many years of service, and in particular since the closing of last year's
merger," said Craig A. Collard, Cornerstone's President and Chief Executive
Officer. "Scott's knowledge of Critical Therapeutics' pre-merger business was
especially helpful as we integrated the operations of the combined company and
filed our first post-merger Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q, as well as the Proxy Statement for our first post-merger annual
stockholders' meeting, which will be held on May 28, 2009. Scott recognized
that, at this juncture in our development, we need a general counsel who is
located full-time at our North Carolina headquarters, but told us that, for
family reasons, he is currently unable to relocate from Massachusetts. Thus,
we mutually agreed that it would be prudent to make this management change at
this time. We appreciate Scott agreeing to remain with us through our annual
stockholders' meeting."

Cornerstone currently retains Raleigh, North Carolina-based Smith, Anderson,
Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P. as its external legal counsel.

About Cornerstone Therapeutics

Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq CM: CRTX), headquartered in Cary, N.C.,
is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and
commercializing significant products primarily for the respiratory and related
markets. The Company currently promotes multiple marketed products in the
United States to respiratory-focused physicians and key retail pharmacies with
its specialty sales force. The Company also has a late-stage clinical
pipeline with five regulatory approval submissions targeted within the next
three years. Key elements of the Company's strategy are to in-license or
acquire rights to underpromoted, patent-protected, branded respiratory or
related pharmaceutical products, or late-stage product candidates; implement
life cycle management strategies to maximize the potential value and
competitive position of the Company's currently marketed products, newly
acquired products and product candidates that are currently in development;
grow product revenue through the Company's specialty sales force which is
focused on the respiratory and related markets; and maintain and strengthen
the intellectual property position of the Company's currently marketed
products, newly acquired products and product candidates.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this press release regarding the progress and timing of our
product development programs and related trials; our future opportunities; our
strategy, future operations, financial position, future revenues and projected
costs; our management's prospects, plans and objectives; and any other
statements about management's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or
prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not
statements of historical fact (including, without limitation, statements
containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "may," "plan," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar
expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements.

There are a number of important factors that could cause our actual results or
events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements, including risks relating to our ability to develop and maintain
the necessary sales, marketing, supply chain, distribution and manufacturing
capabilities to commercialize our products, including difficulties relating to
the manufacture of ZYFLO CR(R) tablets; the possibility that the Food and Drug
Administration (the FDA) will take enforcement action against us or one or
more of our marketed drugs that do not have FDA-approved marketing
applications; patient, physician and third-party payor acceptance of our
products as safe and effective therapeutic products; our ability to maintain
regulatory approvals to market and sell our products that do have FDA approved
marketing applications; our ability to enter into additional strategic
licensing, collaboration or co-promotion transactions on favorable terms, if
at all; our ability to maintain compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements;
adverse side effects experienced by patients taking our products; difficulties
relating to clinical trials, including difficulties or delays in the
completion of patient enrollment, data collection or data analysis; the
results of preclinical studies and clinical trials with respect to our
products under development and whether such results will be indicative of
results obtained in later clinical trials; our ability to satisfy FDA and
other regulatory requirements; our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce
patent and other intellectual property protection for our products and product
candidates; and the other factors described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our
Quarterly Report on Form 10Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the SEC) on May 7, 2009 and other filings that we make with the SEC. If one
or more of these factors materialize, or if any underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements.

In addition, the statements in this press release reflect our expectations and
beliefs as of the date of this release. We anticipate that subsequent events
and developments will cause our expectations and beliefs to change. However,
while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements publicly at some
point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Our
forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future
acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, business development transactions, joint
ventures or investments that we may make. These forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date after the
date of this release.

ZYFLO CR(R) is a trademark of Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc.

Investor Relations Contacts:
FD
Evan Smith/Brian Ritchie
212-850-5600
evan.smith@fd.com/brian.ritchie@fd.com

Media Relations Contact:
FD
Robert Stanislaro
212-850-5600
robert.stanislaro@fd.com

SOURCE Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc.

Investor Relations Evan Smith, evan.smith@fd.com, or Brian Ritchie,
brian.ritchie@fd.com, or Media Relations Robert Stanislaro,
robert.stanislaro@fd.com, all of FD, +1-212-850-5600