Exhibit 99.1

Press / Investor Contact:

Bonnie Ortega

Director, Investor/Public Relations

Cardium Therapeutics, Inc.

Tel: (858) 436-1018

Email: InvestorRelations@cardiumthx.com

CARDIUM ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF $5.0 MILLION EQUITY FINANCING

SAN DIEGO, CA – February 16, 2012 – Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE Amex: CXM) today announced that it has completed the previously announced sale of 17,857,143 shares of its common stock in a registered direct offering for gross proceeds of approximately $5.0 million, before deducting placement agent’s fees and estimated offering expenses. The three institutional and accredited investors participating in the offering purchased the shares at a price of $0.28 per share with no warrant coverage. The net proceeds from the offering will be used for general working capital purposes.

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE Amex: LTS), acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The shares of common stock were offered and sold pursuant to a registration statement declared effective by the SEC on August 27, 2010, the prospectus forming a part of that registration statement, and a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC on February 13, 2012. Copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus may be obtained at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov, or from Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., 4400 Biscayne Blvd., 14th Floor, Miami, Florida 33137.

About Cardium

Cardium is focused on the acquisition and strategic development of new and innovative bio-medical product opportunities and businesses with the potential to address significant unmet medical needs that have definable pathways to commercialization, partnering and other economic monetizations. Cardium’s current medical opportunities portfolio, which is focused on health sciences and regenerative medicine, includes the Tissue Repair Company, Cardium Biologics, and the Company’s in-house MedPodium Health Sciences healthy lifestyle product platform. Cardium’s lead commercial product Excellagen™ topical gel for advanced wound care management, has recently received FDA clearance for marketing and sale in the United States. Cardium’s lead clinical development product candidate Generx^® is a DNA-based angiogenic biologic intended for the treatment of patients with myocardial ischemia due to coronary artery disease. In addition, consistent with its capital-efficient business model, Cardium continues to actively evaluate new technologies and business opportunities. In July 2009, Cardium completed

the sale of its InnerCool Therapies medical device business to Royal Philips Electronics, the first asset monetization from the Company’s biomedical investment portfolio. News from Cardium is located at www.cardiumthx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. For example, there can be no assurance that results or trends observed in one clinical study or procedure will be reproduced in subsequent studies or in actual use; that new clinical studies will be successful or will lead to approvals or clearances from health regulatory authorities, or that approvals in one jurisdiction will help to support studies or approvals elsewhere; that the company can attract suitable commercialization partners for our products or that we or partners can successfully commercialize them; that our product or product candidates will not be unfavorably compared to competitive products that may be regarded as safer, more effective, easier to use or less expensive or blocked by third party proprietary rights or other means; that new product opportunities or commercialization efforts will be successfully established; that third parties on whom we depend will perform as anticipated; that we can raise sufficient capital from partnering, monetization or other fundraising transactions to maintain our stock exchange listing or adequately fund ongoing operations; or that we will not be adversely affected by these or other risks and uncertainties that could impact our operations, business or other matters, as described in more detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Copyright 2012 Cardium Therapeutics, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Cardium Therapeutics^®, Generx^®, Cardionovo™, Tissue Repair™, Gene Activated Matrix™, GAM™, Excellagen™, Excellarate™, Osteorate™, MedPodium™, Appexium™, Linée™, Alena™, Cerex™, D-Sorb™, Neo-Energy™, Neo-Carb Bloc™, Nutra-Apps™ are trademarks of Cardium Therapeutics, Inc. or Tissue Repair Company.

(Other trademarks belong to their respective owners)