Document:

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                                                                   Exhibit 10.16

                            DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2004

                           CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

                                       AND

                               ABBOTT LABORATORIES

                           AMENDMENT NO. 1 RELATING TO
                   THE LICENSE AGREEMENT DATED MARCH 19, 2004

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THIS AMENDMENT NO. 1 is made the 15th day of September, 2004

BETWEEN:

(1)      CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC., a corporation organized under the laws of
         the State of Delaware, and with its principal office at 60 Westview
         Drive, Lexington, MA 02421 ("CTI"); and

(2)      ABBOTT LABORATORIES, a corporation organised under the laws of the
         State of Illinois and having its principal office at 100 Abbott Park
         Road, Abbott Park, Illinois 60064 ("ABBOTT")

RECITALS:

         (A)      CTI and Abbott entered into a License Agreement dated March
                  19, 2004 ("ORIGINAL AGREEMENT").

         (B)      CTI and Abbott have agreed to amend the Original Agreement by
                  and upon the terms of this Amendment No. 1.

OPERATIVE PROVISIONS:

1.       INTRODUCTION, DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION

         1.1      This Amendment No. 1 is supplemental to the Original
                  Agreement.

         1.2      Except where expressly provided to the contrary in this
                  Amendment No. 1:

                  1.2.1    all capitalised terms used in this Amendment No. 1
                           shall have the same meanings as are assigned thereto
                           in the Original Agreement, as amended by this
                           Amendment No. 1; and

                  1.2.2    this Amendment No. 1 shall be interpreted in the same
                           manner as the Original Agreement.

         1.3      Reference to clauses herein are to clauses in the Original
                  Agreement.

2.       AMENDMENTS

The parties agree that with effect from the Amendment No. 1 Date, the Original
Agreement is hereby amended as follows:

         2.1      Clause 1 shall be amended by the addition of the following
                  definitions:

                  ""AMENDMENT NO. 1 DATE" shall mean September 15, 2004."

                  ""DOMAIN NAME" shall mean www.zyflo.com."

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         2.2      Clause 2 shall be amended by the insertion of the following
                  Section 2.2A between Sections 2.2 and 2.3:

                  "2.2A  Domain Name Assignment

                           (a)      Subject to the terms and conditions of this
                  Agreement, Abbott hereby irrevocably and unconditionally
                  sells, transfers, conveys assigns and delivers to CTI all of
                  Abbott's right, title and interest in and to the Domain Name
                  and the registration thereof, together with the goodwill
                  associated therewith.

                           (b)      Abbott agrees to cooperate with CTI and to
                  follow CTI's reasonable instructions in order to effectuate
                  the transfer of the Domain Name registration in a timely
                  manner. Specifically, within thirty (30) days of the Amendment
                  No. 1 Date, Abbott agrees to prepare and transmit the
                  necessary InterNic Registrant Name Change Agreement (RNCA) and
                  or to correspond with InterNic to authorize transfer of the
                  Domain Name.

                           (c)      Abbott agrees that, as of the finalization
                  of the transfer of ownership of the Domain Name to CTI, it
                  will abandon all use of the Domain Name.

                           (d)      Abbott warrants and represents that it is
                  the owner of the Domain Name and that it has the authority to
                  transfer the Domain Name.

                           (e)      Abbott further agrees to execute any other
                  document and take any further action reasonably requested by
                  CTI to effectuate the intent and purpose of this Section
                  2.2A."

3.       NO OTHER AMENDMENT; CONFIRMATION

Save as amended by this Amendment No. 1, the parties hereto confirm that the
Original Agreement shall continue in full force and effect in all respects.

4.       COUNTERPARTS

This Amendment No. 1 may be signed in any number of counterparts with the same
effect as if the signatures to each counterpart were upon a single instrument,
and all such counterparts together shall be deemed an original of this Amendment
No. 1.

                      REST OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

                          SIGNATURES ON FOLLOWING PAGE

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IN WITNESS whereof the parties have executed and delivered this Amendment No 1
the date first above written.

SIGNED

/s/ Trevor Phillips
-----------------------------------------
Trevor Phillips
for and on behalf of
CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

SIGNED

/s/ Suzanne A. LeBold, Ph.D.
-----------------------------------------
Suzanne A. LeBold, Ph.D.
for and on behalf of
ABBOTT LABORATORIES

                                       4<PAGE>

                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.38

                           CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
           NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT POLICY
                            EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2006

Each member of the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Critical Therapeutics,
Inc. (the "Corporation") who is not an employee of the Corporation (a
"Non-Employee Director") will receive the following fees:

-    $3,000 for each meeting of the Board, up to a maximum of five in any
     calendar year, that the Non-Employee Director attends in person;

-    $1,000 for each additional meeting of the Board, in excess of five in any
     calendar year, that the director attends in person;

-    $1,500 for each meeting of any committee of the Board on which the director
     serves that the Non-Employee Director attends in person; and

-    $1,000 for each meeting of the Board or any committee of the Board on which
     the director serves that the Non-Employee Director attends by
     teleconference.

The chair of the Audit Committee of the Board will receive an annual fee of
$6,500, the chair of the Compensation Committee of the Board will receive an
annual fee of $6,000 and the chair of the Nomination and Corporate Governance
Committee of the Board will receive an annual fee of $5,000. The Lead
Independent Director will receive an annual fee of $7,000. All fees for
committee chairs and the Lead Independent Director shall be paid at the
beginning of each calendar year (payments for partial years shall be made on a
pro rata basis). All fees for Board and committee meetings and teleconferences
shall be paid on a quarterly basis retrospectively.

Each Non-Employee Director will also receive (i) a nonstatutory option under the
Corporation's 2004 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended, or other stock incentive
plan approved by the Board and stockholders of the Corporation, to purchase up
to 25,000 shares of the Corporation's common stock ("Common Stock") upon his or
her initial election to the Board and (ii) a nonstatutory option to purchase up
to 15,000 shares of Common Stock at each year's annual meeting after which he or
she continues to serve as a director (such option to be pro-rated for partial
years at an amount equal to 1,250 shares for each full month of service from the
date of election to the Board until the date of the first annual meeting).

The per share exercise price of each Non-Employee Director option shall equal
the closing price of the Common Stock on the NASDAQ National Market (or on the
principal market on which the Common Stock is traded if other than the NASDAQ
National Market), on the date of grant (or if no such price is reported on such
date, such price as reported on the nearest preceding date). Such options shall
have a ten-year term. The shares subject to these options become exercisable in
36 equal monthly installments beginning one month from the date of grant. The
shares subject to these options shall be subject to appropriate adjustment for
stock splits, combinations, recapitalizations, and other similar events
affecting the Common Stock.

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The Corporation shall reimburse each Non-Employee Director for reasonable travel
and other expenses incurred in connection with attending meetings of the Board
and its committees.

The Corporation shall pay all reasonable expenses related to continuing director
education; provided, however, that the Corporation shall pay only a pro rata
portion of such expenses if such Non-Employee Director serves on any additional
public company boards.<PAGE>

                                                                   Exhibit 10.42

                           CRITICAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

                               2007 COMPANY GOALS

         On March 2, 2007, the Board of Directors approved company goals for
2007. These company goals will be considered in determining actual bonus amounts
for executive officers in respect of the 2007 fiscal year. The company goals for
2007 consist of the following:

         -    enhance the commercial value of zileuton CR by signing a
              co-promotion arrangement for zileuton CR, launching zileuton CR
              following FDA approval, initiating a Phase IIIb clinical trial of
              zileuton CR, increasing ZYFLO prescriptions and achieving
              specified business development goals;

         -    progress the research and development pipeline by initiating a
              Phase II clinical trial of zileuton injection, completing
              specified preclinical work for the alpha-7 receptor program,
              establishing a co-development collaboration arrangement for the
              alpha-7 receptor program and supporting MedImmune in selecting a
              lead candidate for the HMGB1 program;

         -    establish a strong financial position by managing corporate cash
              spending and ensuring adequate funding and communicate effectively
              with investors; and

         -    create an attractive organization by establishing employee
              programs, recruiting key employees and developing a long-term
              facility strategy.

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