Cornerstone Therapeutics Receives Approval to Acquire Commercial Rights to the

Cornerstone Therapeutics Receives Approval to Acquire Commercial Rights to the Antibiotic Factive

CARY, N.C., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc.
(Nasdaq: CRTX), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring,
developing and commercializing significant products primarily for the
respiratory and related markets, today announced that it has received the
approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Massachusetts for its acquisition of the commercial rights to the antibiotic
Factive(R) (gemifloxacin mesylate) in North America and certain countries in
Europe from Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation (OSCIQ.PK) and expects to
promptly close the transaction.  At the closing, the Company will purchase the
Factive assets for a cash payment of $5,000,000 plus an amount for purchased
inventory to be mutually determined prior to closing, quarterly royalty
payments based on adjusted net sales for a period of five years and the
assumption of certain liabilities, including aggregate cure amounts of
$110,000 under certain contracts that were assumed by the Company.  Oscient
filed its voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States
Bankruptcy Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Massachusetts on July 13, 2009.

Factive is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic approved for the treatment of acute
bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (ABECB) and community-acquired
pneumonia of mild to moderate severity (CAP).  According to Wolters Kluwer
Health, a third-party provider of prescription data, in 2008, the U.S. oral
solid fluoroquinolone market generated approximately 39 million prescriptions.
Factive was launched in the U.S. in September of 2004 and is the only
fluoroquinolone approved in the U.S. for the five-day treatment of both ABECB
and CAP.  Approximately 1.1 million prescriptions have been dispensed for
Factive since its launch.  In 2008, Factive generated approximately $16
million in net revenues.  Factive has composition of matter patent protection
which extends into 2018, longer than the composition of matter patent
protection for any currently marketed fluoroquinolone or other antibiotic
widely used to treat respiratory tract infections.

About Cornerstone Therapeutics
Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq CM: CRTX), headquartered in Cary, N.C.,
is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and
commercializing significant products primarily for the respiratory and related
markets.  The Company currently promotes multiple marketed products in the
United States to respiratory-focused physicians and key retail pharmacies with
its specialty sales force.  The Company also has a late-stage clinical
pipeline with a recent regulatory submission filing and four additional
regulatory approval submissions targeted within the next three years. Key
elements of the Company's strategy are to in-license or acquire rights to
underpromoted, patent-protected, branded respiratory or related pharmaceutical
products or late-stage product candidates; implement life cycle management
strategies to maximize the potential value and competitive position of the
Company's currently marketed products, newly acquired products and product
candidates that are currently in development; grow product revenue through the
Company's specialty sales force, which is focused on the respiratory and
related markets; and maintain and strengthen the intellectual property
position of the Company's currently marketed products, newly acquired products
and product candidates.


Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this press release regarding the progress and timing of our
product development programs and related trials; our future opportunities; our
strategy, future operations, financial position, future revenues and projected
costs; our management's prospects, plans and objectives; and any other
statements about management's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or
prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 

Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including, without
limitation, statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "could,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "should," "target," "will,"
"would" and similar expressions) should also be considered to be
forward-looking statements. 

There are a number of important factors that could cause our actual results or
events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements, including risks relating to the ability to complete and the
expected timeline for completing the transaction with Oscient; our ability to
develop and maintain the necessary sales, marketing, supply chain,
distribution and manufacturing capabilities to commercialize our products,
including difficulties relating to the manufacture of Zyflo CR((R)) tablets;
the possibility that the Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) will take
enforcement action against us or one or more of our marketed drugs that do not
have FDA-approved marketing applications; patient, physician and third-party
payor acceptance of our products as safe and effective therapeutic products;
our heavy dependence on the commercial success of a relatively small number of
currently marketed products; our ability to maintain regulatory approvals to
market and sell our products that do have FDA-approved marketing applications;
our ability to enter into additional strategic licensing, collaboration or
co-promotion transactions on favorable terms, if at all; our ability to
maintain compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements; adverse side effects
experienced by patients taking our products; difficulties relating to clinical
trials, including difficulties or delays in the completion of patient
enrollment, data collection or data analysis; the results of preclinical
studies and clinical trials with respect to our products under development and
whether such results will be indicative of results obtained in later clinical
trials; our ability to satisfy FDA and other regulatory requirements; our
ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property
protection for our products and product candidates; and the other factors
described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on March 26, 2009 and
subsequent filings that we make with the 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.  Our
forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any
acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, business development transactions, joint
ventures or investments that we may make or enter into, except that in
particular circumstances as specifically indicated we may address the
potential impact of our transaction with Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.  These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views
as of any date after the date of this release