Robert Jones Appointed President & CEO and to the Board of Directors of Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ACUR announced today that Robert B. Jones has been appointed President and CEO. Mr. Jones had been serving in that capacity on an interim basis since May 2011, succeeding Andy Reddick who passed away on April 28, 2011. Additionally, Mr. Jones has been appointed to our Board of Directors. Mr. Jones joined the Company in April 2008 as Senior Vice President and COO and has been instrumental in leading the development of products which utilize our proprietary abuse deterrent technologies, including Oxecta™, the first immediate-release oxycodone HCl product approved by the FDA in a formulation with features and benefits intended to minimize abuse. Remarking on the appointment, Richard Markham, Chairman of the Board, stated, "Bob has demonstrated outstanding leadership for the Company over the past 3 years and has the necessary experience to advance the Company following the recent FDA approval of Oxecta."