Cardiome To Acquire U.S. Pharma Company.

Business Editors

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2001

Cardiome Pharma Corp. (the "Company") announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Paralex, Inc., subject to certain conditions and approvals. The acquisition has the unanimous support of the Board of Directors of both Cardiome and Paralex. Paralex is a privately held New York based company containing, among other assets, certain intellectual property rights licensed from The Johns Hopkins University relating to cardiovascular applications of xanthine oxidase inhibitors. In addition, Paralex has an option to acquire a Phase III drug candidate with a non-cardiovascular indication.

Pursuant to the agreement, Cardiome will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Paralex in exchange for approximately 33,300,000 Cardiome shares. The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, and other conditions including completion of a concurrent financing for Cardiome. The Board of Directors of Cardiome has engaged BMO Nesbitt Burns to provide a fairness opinion on the transaction.

"This is a very attractive acquisition for Cardiome as it adds significantly to our core expertise in drugs used to treat heart disease," said Bob Rieder, Cardiome's President and CEO. "Paralex has a drug candidate that is ready for Phase II development in congestive heart failure, one of the largest market opportunities in the cardiovascular area. Combined with our current Phase II antiarrhythmic program, this acquisition moves Cardiome to the next level of the Company's growth with a strong and diversified portfolio."

The Paralex technology is based on patents originally filed by Dr. Eduardo Marban, a globally recognised expert in cardiology and cardiac cell function. He is a Professor of Medicine and Physiology at Johns Hopkins. "Upon closing the transaction, Dr. Marban will be joining Cardiome's scientific advisory board," said Dr. Alan Ezrin, Cardiome's Chief Scientific Officer.

Congestive heart failure is a condition under which the heart gradually loses its ability to pump sufficient blood throughout the body. It is a common disease whose incidence and severity increase with age, and is a significant cause of death in the developed world. CHF is also an important risk factor for serious disorders of the cardiac beat, and is associated with a 6 to 9 fold increase in the risk of sudden cardiac death. The condition also significantly reduces the quality of life in those who suffer from the disease. Approximately 4.7 million persons in the U.S. suffer from CHF, while the developed world total is estimated at approximately 11 million.

Although some of the existing drugs used to treat CHF can provide a short-term increase in the heart's ability to pump blood, they do so at the cost of exacerbating the underlying disease. Such drugs increase contractile energy at the expense of increasing the heart's utilization of oxygen and energy. Xanthine oxidase inhibitors promise to improve myocardial work efficiency by sensitising cardiac muscle cells to calcium ions, which are a key determinant of cardiac muscle function. These calcium-sensitized cardiac cells contract more efficiently without the same increase in oxygen demand.

The strong safety record of the xanthine oxidase inhibitors, which have been used clinically for decades for the management of gout, suggests that clinical development can proceed rapidly. Such drugs have been used by thousands of patients in this way. "The primary driver for this transaction is the attractiveness of the Paralex CHF drug development program," continued Dr. Ezrin. "The Paralex drug candidate is expected to be safe as it has been given to many individuals without adverse side effects. It is expected to be effective in treating CHF on the basis of the extensive animal and human patient data that are already available. Finally, it offers a novel approach to treating a patient group that urgently needs additional therapeutic alternatives."

About Cardiome Pharma Corp

Cardiome Pharma Corp. is a product-focused cardiac drug discovery and development company. The Company's mission is to prevent and treat heart disease. In order to achieve this mission, the Company currently has four drug programs in the cardiac area, including the just-acquired Paralex program. The Paralex program is focused on congestive heart failure and is ready for Phase II development. RSD1235, intended for the acute treatment of atrial fibrillation, is currently being tested by the Company in a Phase II clinical trial. RSD1122, intended for chronic treatment of atrial and ventricular arrhythmia, is in pre-clinical development with AstraZeneca, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. The Company's Kv1.5 antiarrhythmic program, focused on the chronic treatment of atrial fibrillation, is also in the pre-clinical phase at Cardiome. The Company's facilities are on the grounds of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Cardiome is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (COM) and the NASD BB market (COMTF).

Conference call

A conference call will be held on Dec. 24, 2001, at 11:00 a.m. (EST), in which Mr. Bob Rieder and Dr. Alan Ezrin of Cardiome will review the details of the transaction. Interested parties may access the conference call over the web by connecting through Cardiome's website www.cardiome.com. The conference can also be accessed by phone by dialing 1-800-478-9326 and 416-695-5801. The call can be accessed through the BCE Emergis website at www.enewsservices.com/en/webcast/. For the seven days following the conference call, a telephone replay will be available by dialing [phone] or [phone], passcode 1008816.

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Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

The foregoing news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, those described in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F. The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Robert Rieder

President & Chief Executive Officer