Cardiome To Present Study Results At Major European Cardiology Conference.

Business Editors

VANCOUVER, Canada--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2002

Cardiome Pharma Corp. (OTC BB:COMRF)(TSX:COM) announced today that it will host New Directions in the Management of Atrial Fibrillation, a satellite symposium to be held under the auspices of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2002 in Berlin. The symposium will include a discussion of the results of Cardiome's product RSD1235 in the treatment of atrial fibrillation by lead investigator, Dr. Denis Roy of the Montreal Heart Institute. A phase II clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of RSD1235 in the treatment of atrial fibrillation was completed in July. A press statement describing the study outcome will be released concurrently with the symposium session, followed by a conference call with management (details below).

The symposium will take place Tuesday, September 3, 2002 at 16:30 Berlin time. The symposium will feature a discussion of current issues and updates on new therapies and drugs for the treatment of atrial fibrillation by leading cardiologists and emergency room physicians who specialise in the treatment and management of atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is an erratic beating of the upper chambers of the heart, which affects more than six million people in the developed world.

Cardiome's lead antiarrhythmic product, RSD1235, is an acute-use, intravenous administration treatment for atrial fibrillation. Dosing in a Phase II efficacy clinical trial has recently been completed. Limitations of current drug therapy range from modest to low efficacy, slow onset of action, and serious side effects including undesirable interaction with other medications as well potentially life threatening cardiovascular side effects.

Agenda:

       New Directions in the Management of Atrial Fibrillation
               Tuesday, September 3, 2002, 16:30 - 18:00
                        Room: Rome (Blue Zone)

Current Issues in the Management of the AF Patient
Dr. George Wyse, University of Calgary, AB, Canada

Current Issues in the Emergency Department Management of Acute AF
Dr. Brian H. Rowe, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Ongoing Clinical Trials in AF
Dr. Denis Roy, Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada

New AF Agents in Development
Dr. Bramah Singh, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA


Notification of Conference Call and Webcast (30 following conclusion
of the Symposium)

Time:   12:30 p.m. (EST)
Date:   Tuesday September 3, 2002
Topic:  Top Line Results of RSD1235
Web Access (unlimited access): www.cardiome.com
Telephone Access: 416-695-5806

About European Society of Cardiology.

Its mission is to improve the quality of life of the European population by reducing the impact of cardiovascular disease About Cardiome Pharma Corp.

Cardiome Pharma Corp. is a product-focused cardiovascular drug development company. Cardiome has four drug programs focused on arrhythmias and congestive heart failure (CHF), as well as a program applying its congestive heart failure drug to symptomatic hyperuricemia (gout). In addition to the above-mentioned anti-arrhythmia programs, Cardiome's lead product in the CHF area is oxypurinol, a novel therapy in treating the disease. A Phase II is planned for the second half of 2002. Cardiome also plans to develop oxypurinol as a treatment of gout for patients who are intolerant to allopurinol, the first-line therapy for gout. Cardiome has more than two years of cash at existing spending levels and is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (COM). Further information about Cardiome can be found at www.cardiome.com.