Capricor Therapeutics Appoints Thomas Copmann, Ph.D. as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Drug Development

- New Position Added as Company's Pipeline Progresses in Clinical Development -

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB:CAPR), a biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announced that Thomas Copmann, Ph.D., has been appointed to the newly created position of Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Drug Development. In this role, Dr. Copmann will lead the company's regulatory initiatives and strategy, ensure appropriate regulatory compliance in the conduct of all Capricor development programs and manage reporting to the FDA and health authorities.

"Dr. Copmann joins our management team at a crucial point in the company's development as we advance our cardiovascular clinical programs, which include cardiosphere-derived cells, CAP-1002, for post-heart attack treatment and for treatment of advanced heart failure and Cenderitide for outpatient treatment of heart failure following hospitalization," said Linda Marbán, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Capricor. "Dr. Copmann has deep experience spanning over 25 years and a record of success managing regulatory affairs and product development that I am confident will optimize the likelihood of successfully developing our pipeline."

Prior to joining Capricor, Dr. Copmann served as chair of the Commission on Drugs for Rare Diseases, was the industry representative on the National Vaccine Advisory Board and served as a scientific advisor to President George H.W. Bush. Dr. Copmann is responsible for over 47 new drug applications in the endocrinology, neurology, cardiovascular, and oncology areas. He has established global departments at Eli Lilly, PMA, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Nordisk and others. Most recently, Dr. Copmann served as an independent consultant on regulatory affairs and drug development to clients including the NIH, venture capital groups and pharmaceutical companies where his product area of expertise included cardiovascular and blood products.

"Capricor is engaged in important product development work with truly innovative candidates to provide novel treatment options for patients who have had a heart attack, advanced heart failure or Duchenne muscular dystrophy cardiomyopathy," said Dr. Copmann. "I am looking forward to working as part of the Capricor team to efficiently and successfully develop these products and bring them to patients."

About Capricor Therapeutics

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (CAPR), a publicly traded biotechnology company, is focused on the development of novel therapeutics to prevent and treat heart disease. The Company has two leading product candidates: CAP-1002 and Cenderitide. The Company was formed through the November 2013 merger between Capricor, Inc., a privately held company whose mission is to improve the treatment of heart disease by commercializing cardiac stem cell therapies for patients, and Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. For additional information visit www.capricor.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release regarding the efficacy, safety, and intended utilization of Capricor's product candidates; the conduct, size, timing and results of discovery efforts and clinical trials; plans regarding regulatory filings, future research and clinical trials; plans regarding current and future collaborative activities and the ownership of commercial rights; future royalty streams, and any other statements about Capricor's management team'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 statements containing the words "believes," "plans," "could," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," "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 actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. More information about these and other risks that may impact our business are set forth in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2014, in our Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23, 2014, and in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2014. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

CONTACT: For more information, please contact:

         Corporate Contact
         Capricor Therapeutics, Inc.
         AJ Bergmann, Vice President of Finance
         +1-310-358-3200
         abergmann@capricor.com

         Media Relations
         Russo Partners
         Christopher Hippolyte
         +1-646-942-5634
         chris.hippolyte@russopartnersllc.com

         Tony Russo, Ph.D.
         +1-212-845-4251
         tony.russo@russopartnersllc.com

         Investor Relations:
         Russo Partners
         Robert Flamm, Ph.D.
         +1-212-845-4226
         robert.flamm@russopartnersllc.com

Released February 27, 2015