DiaMedica Retains the Law Firm Cooley LLP as its Intellectual Property and Corporate Partnering Counsel

DiaMedica (TSX VENTURE:DMA) today announces that it has retained Cooley LLP
("Cooley") and Bill Christiansen, Ph.D., as its primary legal counsel for
intellectual property and legal advisor for partnering. 


Cooley is working closely with DiaMedica to expand the company's already
comprehensive patent portfolio, including recent freedom to operate and
patentability analysis. As a result of this analysis, DiaMedica has recently
filed several new patent applications and established several non-patent
barriers to further protect its products. In addition, Cooley, with its
established and dedicated team of corporate partnering and licensing attorneys,
will provide corporate representation to DiaMedica with regards to the company's
ongoing partnership discussions. 


"Cooley's proven track record and expertise in patents and mergers and
acquisitions give us great confidence that the interests of DiaMedica and our
shareholders will be protected while we pursue various strategic opportunities,"
stated Rick Pauls, Chairman and CEO of DiaMedica. 


About Cooley LLP 

Cooley was named 2011-2012 "Law Firm of the Year" in Biotechnology, by US News
and Best Lawyers, and consistently ranks #1 for representation of life sciences
companies.


Cooley's 650 attorneys have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive
experience, and are committed to solving clients' most challenging legal
matters. From small companies with big ideas to international enterprises with
diverse legal needs, Cooley has the breadth of legal resources to enable
companies of all sizes to seize opportunities in today's global marketplace. The
firm represents clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors,
including technology, life sciences, venture capital, clean energy, real estate
and retail.


Cooley and its nationally preeminent life sciences practice serves as counsel to
nearly 35 percent of the companies on the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. Cooley has
completed more than 70 major corporate partnering and licensing deals, with
total deal value in excess of $26.5 billion, closed more than 90 life sciences
M&A deals, and completed more than 200 life sciences public offerings, including
36 IPOs.


About DiaMedica 

DiaMedica is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovery and development of
novel therapeutic compounds for diabetes and other major, medically-unmet
diseases. DiaMedica's lead compound, DM-199, is a recombinant human protein that
represents a novel approach to treating Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. In a Type 1
diabetes model, DM-199 halted the autoimmune attack on beta cells by stimulating
regulatory T-cells, and resulted in a 12-fold increase in C-peptide levels. In
Type 2 diabetes models, DM-199 treatment stimulated proliferation of insulin
producing beta cells, resulting in significant improvement in glucose control.
DiaMedica is also developing a novel monoclonal antibody, DM-204 as a treatment
for Type 2 diabetes. Chronic treatment with DM-204 in a Type 2 diabetes model
resulted in significant improvement in blood glucose control and HbA1c levels
and also significant decreases in blood pressure and serum cholesterol. 


DiaMedica's DM-199 and DM-204 were both named Windhover's "2011 Top 10
Cardiovascular/Metabolic Projects to Watch". The Company is listed on the TSX
Venture Exchange under the trading symbol 'DMA'.


Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information The statements made in this press
release that are not historical facts contain forward-looking information that
involves risk and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of
historical facts, which address DiaMedica's expectations, should be considered
forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's exercise
of business judgment as well as assumptions made by and information currently
available to management. When used in this document, the words "may", "will",
"anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and words of similar
import, are intended to identify any forward-looking statements. You should not
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements
reflect a current view of future events and are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties as contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities
regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking
statements. The Company undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to
update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Although
management believes that expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, no
assurance can be given that these expectations will materialize.