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BELLUS HEALTH ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF MARTIN TOLAR, M.D., Ph.D. TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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^{Published in Health and Fitness on Wednesday, October 6th 2010 at 8:56 GMT by Market Wire}  

LAVAL, QC, Oct 6 /CNW Telbec/ - BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU) ("BELLUS Health" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Martin Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., to the Board of Directors of the Company, effective immediately.

"We are pleased to welcome Martin Tolar on the Board," said Dr. Francesco Bellini, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BELLUS Health. "Martin brings with him a wealth of relevant industry expertise and knowledge, particularly in the field of Alzheimer's disease where BELLUS is currently developing its Phase I drug candidate NRM-8499", he added.

Dr. Martin Tolar is President and Chief Executive Officer of NormOxys Inc., a private biotechnology company developing oxyrens, a novel class of small molecule drugs which enhance the body's ability to deliver oxygen more efficiently to hypoxic diseased tissues. Before joining NormOxys in 2009, Dr. Tolar was Executive Vice President & Chief Business Officer at CoMentis Inc., a private biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration and cognition, where he led the company's scientific and business growth and negotiated a landmark collaboration agreement with Astellas Pharma for CoMentis' beta secretase platform, valued at $760 million plus future commercial and product milestones. Dr. Tolar's industry experience also includes seven years at Pfizer Inc., where he served in senior positions in the Clinical Development, Strategic Partnerships and Business Development divisions, and played a leadership role in number of influential business development deals including the acquisition of Rinat Neurosciences and a collaboration transaction with TransTech Pharma. Dr. Tolar serves on the board of directors of Suven Life Sciences Ltd, a public biopharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad, India.

"Martin's extensive scientific, operational and business experience is a significant asset to BELLUS Health," said Roberto Bellini, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The executive team looks forward to collaborating with Martin as we continue to implement our business strategy of developing product candidates until their safety and efficacy have been demonstrated; and then entering into partnerships."

About BELLUS Health

BELLUS Health is a development-focused health company concentrating on research and development of products that provide innovative health solutions and address critical unmet medical needs. For further information, please visit [ www.bellushealth.com ].

Forward Looking Statements

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.