Critical Therapeutics' Board of Directors Appoints Frank Thomas as Chief Executive Officer.

LEXINGTON, Mass. -- Critical Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRTX) today announced that Frank E. Thomas has been promoted to the position of chief executive officer effective immediately. He also will retain the position of president. Thomas, 37, joined Critical Therapeutics in April 2004 and served as chief financial officer until he was elected president in June 2006.

"Frank has built a foundation for success at Critical Therapeutics and the board of directors is acknowledging those efforts by appointing him as CEO," stated Richard Dugan, lead independent director. "Through his hard work and dedication, Frank has guided Critical Therapeutics through a difficult reorganization, which has led to a stronger, more focused and efficient company. Frank's vision and leadership has helped the board and management to prioritize the Company's investments so our most promising programs with the greatest opportunity for shareholder value remain on track."

"I extend my thanks to Dick Dugan and the other members of the board of directors for the opportunity to serve as CEO," Thomas said. "I believe that the strategy we have implemented over the past six months will create value for our shareholders by expanding the opportunities for our zileuton franchise and advancing new drug candidates into the clinic. We have a talented and dedicated group of employees and I am confident in our ability to reach our key objectives in 2007 and beyond."

About Critical Therapeutics

Critical Therapeutics, Inc. is developing and commercializing innovative products for respiratory, inflammatory and critical care diseases. The Company owns worldwide rights to ZYFLO[R] (zileuton tablets), which is marketed in the United States for the prevention and chronic treatment of asthma in patients 12 years of age and older. Critical Therapeutics is working to expand its zileuton franchise by introducing a twice daily, controlled-release formulation for the prevention and chronic treatment of asthma and an intravenous formulation for acute asthma attacks that lead patients to the emergency room and other urgent care settings. The Company also is collaborating with MedImmune, Inc. to design antibody therapies that treat acute and chronic diseases triggered by the inflammatory cytokine HMGB1. Research pipeline programs include lifecycle management to extend the zileuton franchise and an alpha-7 project for the treatment of inflammation. Critical Therapeutics is located in Lexington, Mass. For more information, please visit www.crtx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements 

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Critical Therapeutics, Inc., including, without limitation, statements regarding possible therapeutic benefits, market acceptance and future sales of ZYFLO and if approved, the controlled-release formulation of zileuton (zileuton CR); the progress, timing and success of our regulatory filings, regulatory approvals and product launches, including for zileuton CR; the impact and success of our operational restructuring; the progress and timing of our drug development programs and related trials; our strategy, future operations and financial position; prospects, plans and objectives of management; and all other statements that are not purely historical in nature, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including risks and uncertainties relating to: the expected timing and outcome of the new drug application (NDA) for zileuton CR and the related discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including our ability to rely on historical data in the NDA, including the sufficiency and acceptability of the results of pharmacokinetic studies of zileuton CR for FDA purposes; our ability to transition our management team effectively; our ability to successfully enter into strategic co-promotion, collaboration or licensing transactions on favorable terms, if at all; our ability to develop and maintain the necessary sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities to commercialize ZYFLO and, if approved, zileuton CR; our ability to successfully market and sell ZYFLO with a reduced sales force; patient, physician and third-party payor acceptance of ZYFLO and, if approved, zileuton CR, as a safe and effective therapeutic product; adverse side effects experienced by patients taking ZYFLO and, if approved, zileuton CR; conducting clinical trials, including difficulties or delays in the completion of patient enrollment, data collections or data analysis, our heavy dependence on the commercial success of ZYFLO and, if approved zileuton CR, our ability to obtain the substantial additional funding required to conduct our research, development and commercialization activities; our dependence on our strategic collaboration with MedImmune, Inc.; our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for ZYFLO, our discoveries and drug candidates; our ability to maintain regulatory approvals to market and sell ZYFLO and, if approved, zileuton CR. These and other risks are described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other filings that we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 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. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release.

ZYFLO([R]) is a registered trademark of Critical Therapeutics, Inc.