Chelsea Therapeutics Appoints Dr. William D. Schwieterman Chief Medical Officer

CHARLOTTE, N.C, Nov. 2, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chelsea Therapeutics
International, Ltd. (Nasdaq:CHTP) announced the appointment of William D.
Schwieterman, M.D., to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer. Dr.
Schwieterman, who resigned his seat on Chelsea's Board of Directors to assume
the position, will be responsible for medical and regulatory affairs, and will
report to Simon Pedder, Ph.D., Chelsea's President and Chief Executive Officer.

"Bill joins Chelsea's management team at a time when his experience will be
invaluable across each of our clinical programs," said Dr. Simon Pedder. "Having
known Bill for 12 years, going back to the development of Pegasys(R), I was
delighted to first welcome his insight and expertise on our rheumatology
scientific advisory board and later on the Company's Board of Directors. Given
the extensive regulatory experience he gained during his 10 year tenure at the
FDA, his deep knowledge of Chelsea, and commitment to our therapeutic pipeline,
we believe Bill's contributions as Chief Medical Officer will be instrumental as
we work toward approval of Droxidopa in neurogenic orthostatic hypotension and
continue to advance all of our product candidates."

Dr. Schwieterman, a rheumatologist and board-certified internist, brings over 25
years of experience to Chelsea with a career spanning medical practice, drug
development, and regulatory oversight. For the past year, Dr. Schwieterman held
a seat on Chelsea's Board of Directors following three years of service on the
Company's rheumatology advisory board. While advising Chelsea, he also served as
an independent consultant to other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies,
focusing on clinical development and regulatory matters since 2002. Prior to
that, Dr. Schwieterman was Chief of the Medicine Branch and Chief of the
Immunology and Infectious Disease Branch in the Division of Clinical Trials at
the FDA. In these capacities and others, he worked with sponsors for the
development of new agents for pulmonary medicine, neurology, hepatitis,
rheumatology, infectious disease, and solid organ transplantation, among other
areas.

In addition to having helped author the FDA's Good Review Practices for
investigational products, Dr. Schwieterman is widely published in peer-reviewed
journals. Dr. Schwieterman received his M.D. from the University of Cincinnati
and his internship and residency programs were completed at Mt. Sinai Hospital
in New York City. Dr. Schwieterman's research training was obtained at the
National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He currently serves on the
board of directors and compensation committee of OXiGENE, Inc., a publicly
traded company.

About Chelsea Therapeutics

Chelsea Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical development company that acquires
and develops innovative products for the treatment of a variety of human
diseases. Chelsea's most advanced drug candidate, Droxidopa, is an orally active
synthetic precursor of norepinephrine initially being developed for the
treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension. In addition to Droxidopa,
Chelsea is also developing a portfolio of metabolically inert oral antifolate
molecules engineered to have potent anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activity to
treat a range of immunological disorders, including two clinical stage product
candidates: CH-1504 and CH-4051. Preclinical and clinical data suggest superior
safety and tolerability, as well as increased potency versus methotrexate (MTX).

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events.
These statements are just predictions and are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause the actual events or results to differ materially. These risks
and uncertainties include our need to raise operating capital, our history of
losses, risks and costs of drug development, risk of regulatory approvals, our
reliance on our lead drug candidates Droxidopa and CH-1504, reliance on
collaborations and licenses, intellectual property risks, competition, market
acceptance for our products if any are approved for marketing and reliance on
key personnel including specifically Dr. Pedder.

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CONTACT: Chelsea Therapeutics
Investors:
Kathryn McNeil
718-788-2856
mcneil@chelseatherapeutics.com

Hill & Knowlton
Media:
Sean Leous
212-885-0549
sean.leous@hillandknowlton.com