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BELLUS Health Inc. Announces Record Date for $12 Million Rights Offering To Common Shareholders

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^{Published in Health and Fitness on Wednesday, July 15th 2009 at 13:53 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-07-15 13:54:00 by Market Wire}  

 LAVAL, QC, July 15 /CNW Telbec/ - BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU) today announced that it has set August 5, 2009, as the record date for its previously announced C$12,080,018 rights offering to holders of its common shares. Under the terms of the rights offering, one right will be issued for each common share outstanding as of the record date. Holders of common shares of BELLUS Health resident in Canada (the "Eligible Shareholders") will be entitled to exercise rights to subscribe for common shares of BELLUS Health. Each 0.80 of a right will entitle Eligible Shareholders to purchase one common share of BELLUS Health at C$0.185 (the "Subscription Price"). The Subscription Price represents a 25% discount off the volume weighted average price of BELLUS Health's common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange during the five (5) trading days immediately preceding the announcement of the rights offering on July 7, 2009. The rights will be exercisable until 5 p.m. (Montreal time) on September 4, 2009. Each of Victoria Square Ventures Inc. and Vitus Investments III Private Limited, a corporation whose shares are beneficially owned by Mr. Carlo Bellini, have entered into separate standby purchase commitments with BELLUS Health whereby they have agreed, on a separate and individual and not solidary basis, to purchase such of the common shares that are not otherwise purchased under the rights offering for a subscription price of C$4,000,000 each for an aggregate amount of C$8,000,000. Due to applicable securities law and regulatory restrictions, only Eligible Shareholders will be able to exercise rights. Computershare Investor Services Inc., as the rights agent, will attempt to sell the rights of holders of common shares other than Eligible Shareholders and remit the proceeds of any such sale, net of applicable expenses to such other shareholders. Due to such securities law and regulatory restrictions, the offering is not available to holders of securities of BELLUS Health other than holders of common shares. About BELLUS Health BELLUS Health is a global health company focused on the development and commercialization of products to provide innovative health solutions to address critical unmet needs. To Contact BELLUS Health For additional information on BELLUS Health and its drug development programs, please call the Canada and United States toll-free number 1-877-680-4500 or visit the Web Site at [ www.bellushealth.com ]. Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond BELLUS Health Inc.'s control. Such risks include but are not limited to: the impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the pharmaceutical and/or nutraceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which the BELLUS Health Group does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, that actual results may vary once the final and quality-controlled verification of data and analyses has been completed, as well as other risks disclosed in public filings of BELLUS Health Inc. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance, if any, on any forward-looking statements included in this news release. These statements speak only as of the date made and BELLUS Health Inc. is under no obligation and disavows any intention to update or revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstances or otherwise, unless required by applicable legislation or regulation. Please see the Annual Information Form of BELLUS Health Inc. for further risk factors that might affect the BELLUS Health Group and its business. 

For further information: Michelle Stein, Specialist, Corporate Communications, (450) 680-4573, [ mstein@bellushealth.com ]