Independent Proxy Advisor Firms ISS and Glass Lewis Recommend Cardiome Shareholders Vote in Favor of Share Consolidation

    Independent Proxy Advisor Firms ISS and Glass Lewis Recommend Cardiome
              Shareholders Vote in Favor of Share Consolidation

PR Newswire

VANCOUVER, March 19, 2013

NASDAQ: CRME   TSX: COM

VANCOUVER, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Cardiome Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CRME /
TSX: COM) today announced that Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS)
and Glass Lewis & Co., two leading independent proxy research and advisory
firms, have published reports recommending that Cardiome shareholders vote FOR
a share consolidation resolution, authorizing the Board of Directors to
effect, in its discretion, a share consolidation of the outstanding common
shares, at a consolidation ratio of up to ten (10) common shares being
consolidated into one (1) common share, by amending Cardiome's articles of
incorporation, subject to the Board's authority to decide not to proceed with
the share consolidation..

As outlined  in detail  in  the special  meeting of  shareholders  information 
circular, Cardiome's Board believes that  the share consolidation is the  most 
effective means of avoiding a potential delisting of the Corporation's  common 
shares from The NASDAQ Capital Market, on which they are currently listed  and 
quoted for  trading in  the United  States. In  addition to  the objective  of 
avoiding delisting  from  the  NASDAQ,  the  Board  believes  that  the  share 
consolidation could heighten the  interest of the  financial community in  the 
Corporation and potentially broaden  the pool of  investors that may  consider 
investing or be able  to invest in the  Corporation by increasing the  trading 
price of the  common shares and  decreasing the number  of outstanding  common 
shares. It  could  also  help  to attract  institutional  investors  who  have 
internal policies that  either prohibit  them from purchasing  stocks below  a 
certain  minimum  price  or  tend   to  discourage  individual  brokers   from 
recommending such stocks to their customers.

"I am pleased that ISS and  Glass Lewis, two leading independent research  and 
advisory firms, validate  the views of  Cardiome's Board of  Directors that  a 
share consolidation will be in the best interest of Cardiome," stated  William 
Hunter, M.D., director, and interim president and CEO of Cardiome.

Your vote is important to us no matter  how many shares you hold. For a  proxy 
to be effective, it  must be voted  in advance of the  Special Meeting and  no 
later than  10:00 a.m.  (Pacific  Time) on  April  1, 2013.  Shareholders  who 
require assistance  in  voting  their  proxy may  direct  their  inquiries  to 
Cardiome's proxy solicitation  agent, CST Phoenix  Advisors at  1-800-398-1129 
(toll free in North America) or by email at inquiries@phoenixadvisorscst.com.

Copies of the Notice of Special Meeting of Shareholders, Information  Circular 
and related documents have  been filed on the  System for Electronic  Document 
Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) and are available for viewing on the website at
www.sedar.com. This information has also been filed on March 5, 2013 with  the 
U.S. Securities  and  Exchange Commission  and  is available  for  viewing  at 
www.sec.gov.

About Cardiome Pharma Corp.
Cardiome Pharma Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the
discovery, development and commercialization of new therapies that will
improve the health of patients around the world. Cardiome has one marketed
product, BRINAVESS^TM (vernakalant IV), approved in Europe and other
territories for the rapid conversion of recent onset atrial fibrillation to
sinus rhythm in adults.

Cardiome is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market (CRME) and the Toronto Stock
Exchange (COM). For more information, please visit our web site at
www.cardiome.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
Certain statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or
forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation
that may not be based on historical fact, including without limitation
statements containing the words "believe", "may", "plan", "will", "estimate",
"continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect" and similar expressions. 
Forward- looking statements may involve, but are not limited to, comments with
respect to our objectives and priorities for the remainder of 2013 and beyond,
our strategies or future actions, our targets, expectations for our financial
condition and the results of, or outlook for, our operations, research and
development and product and drug development. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different
from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Many such known risks, uncertainties and other
factors are taken into account as part of our assumptions underlying these
forward-looking statements and include, among others, the following: general
economic and business conditions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the
other regions in which we operate; market demand; technological changes that
could impact our existing products or our ability to develop and commercialize
future products; competition; existing governmental legislation and
regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental
legislation and regulations; availability of financial reimbursement coverage
from governmental and third-party payers for products and related treatments;
adverse results or unexpected delays in pre-clinical and clinical product
development processes; adverse findings related to the safety and/or efficacy
of our products or products; decisions, and the timing of decisions, made by
health regulatory agencies regarding approval of our technology and products;
the requirement for substantial funding to expand commercialization
activities; and any other factors that may affect our performance. In
addition, our business is subject to certain operating risks that may cause
any results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this
presentation to differ materially from our actual results. These operating
risks include: our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our
ability to successfully complete pre-clinical and clinical development of our
products; changes in our business strategy or development plans; intellectual
property matters, including the unenforceability or loss of patent protection
resulting from third-party challenges to our patents; market acceptance of our
technology and products; our ability to successfully manufacture, market and
sell our products; the availability of capital to finance our activities; and
any other factors described in detail in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission available at www.sec.gov and the Canadian securities
regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. Given these risks, uncertainties and
factors, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement. All forward-looking statements and information made
herein are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to
revise or update such forward-looking statements and information to reflect
subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

SOURCE Cardiome Pharma Corp.

Contact:

Cardiome Investor Relations
(604) 676-6993 or Toll Free: 1-800-330-9928
Email: ir@cardiome.com