Critical Therapeutics Appoints Chief Financial Officer.

Former Life Sciences Investment Banker, Tucker Kelly, Joins Executive Management Team

LEXINGTON, Mass. -- Critical Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRTX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative products for respiratory, inflammatory and critical care diseases, today announced that Tucker Kelly, 36, has been appointed to the position of the chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance and corporate development, effective August 20, 2007.

"Tucker's Wall Street experience, transactional expertise and life science industry background will be invaluable to Critical Therapeutics as we continue to grow our commercial respiratory business and advance our pipeline of clinical and preclinical product candidates," said president and chief executive officer, Frank Thomas. "His exceptional credentials, vision and drive make Tucker an excellent candidate to oversee the financial and business development strategy of the Company."

Prior to joining Critical Therapeutics, Mr. Kelly had worked as a life sciences investment banker since 1998, most recently as a principal with Canaccord Adams and previously as a vice president with Robertson Stephens. Before his tenure in investment banking, Mr. Kelly worked as a corporate and securities attorney with Foley, Hoag & Eliot, LLP. During his career, Mr. Kelly has advised public and private life science clients in the United States and in Europe on their corporate finance and capital markets activities on more than 50 financing and advisory transactions.

"Critical Therapeutics is a dynamic organization with a strong commercial foundation and a number of exciting clinical and preclinical development stage programs," Mr. Kelly said. "Frank and his team have forged strong alliances that create significant opportunities for the Company over the long term. I look forward to applying my financial and strategic experience toward helping the Company develop and commercialize innovative pharmaceutical products in our targeted markets."

Mr. Kelly received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School.

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 two FDA-approved drugs for the prevention and chronic treatment of asthma in patients 12 years of age and older: twice-daily ZYFLO CR[TM] (zileuton) extended-release tablets and ZYFLO[R] (zileuton tablets). Critical Therapeutics is working to develop products for acute asthma attacks that lead patients to the emergency room and other urgent care settings. The Company also is developing therapies directed toward the body's inflammatory response. 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, our strategy, future operations, 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: our ability to successfully market and sell ZYFLO and ZYFLO CR, including the success of our co-promotion arrangement with Dey, L.P. (DEY); our ability to develop and maintain the necessary sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities to commercialize ZYFLO and ZYFLO CR; patient, physician and third-party payor acceptance of ZYFLO and ZYFLO CR, as safe and effective therapeutic products; our heavy dependence on the commercial success of ZYFLO and ZYFLO CR; our ability to successfully enter into additional strategic co-promotion, collaboration or licensing transactions on favorable terms, if at all; 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; and our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for ZYFLO CR, our discoveries and our drug candidates. 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 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. 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. ZYFLO CR[TM] is a trademark of Critical Therapeutics, Inc.