Cardiome Initiates Phase 1 Study f...( NASDAQ: CR...),Health

NASDAQ: CRME TSX: COM

VANCOUVER, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Cardiome Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CRME/TSX: COM) today announced initiation of subject dosing in its Phase 1 study of GED-aPC. The single-blinded, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study will measure the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of GED-aPC in 24 healthy subjects, with each subject receiving a 15-minute loading dose at the start of a 24-hour continuous intravenous infusion of GED-aPC. Results from this study are expected in the first half of 2008.

"We are very pleased to initiate our clinical program for GED-aPC, an exciting addition to our clinical pipeline," stated Bob Rieder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cardiome. "We believe strongly that GED-aPC has the potential to be effective in treating a variety of cardiovascular diseases, and intend to aggressively advance this exciting new drug candidate through a rigorous clinical program."

GED-aPC is an engineered analog of recombinant human activated Protein C (aPC) with enhanced anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic and strong binding to endothelial protein C receptor properties, and has broad potential across multiple indications.

In April 2007 Cardiome acquired exclusive worldwide rights for GED-aPC for all indications. Cardiome intends to initially develop GED-aPC in cardiogenic shock, a life-threatening form of acute circulatory failure due to cardiac dysfunction, which is a leading cause of death for patients hospitalized following a heart attack.

About Cardiome Pharma Corp.

Cardiome Pharma Corp. is a product-focused cardiovascular drug development company with two late-stage clinical drug programs focused on atrial arrhythmia (intravenous and oral dosing), a Phase 1 program for GED-aPC, an engineered analog of recombinant human activated Protein C, and a pre-clinical program directed at improving cardiovascular function.

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