MONTREAL, CANADA--(Marketwire - Aug. 2, 2012) - Paladin Labs Inc. (TSX:PLB), a leading specialty pharmaceutical company, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

2012 Second Quarter Highlights

Financial

• Revenues reached $37.1 million, an increase of 3% over the same period last year
• Net income was $10.9 million, a 35% decline over the same period last year
• EBITDA¹ was $17.2 million, a 6% decline over the same period last year

Product Development

• Entered into a license and supply agreement with Nuvo Research Inc ("Nuvo") (TSX:NRI) whereby Paladin acquired the Canadian rights to market and sell Synera® upon regulatory approval and agreed to loan Nuvo $8 million in two equal tranches
• Filed a Non-Traditional Product License Application (PLA) that was accepted for review by Health Canada for Travelan®, an over-the-counter product for the prevention of travellers' diarrhea

Corporate Development

• Appointed Mr. Jonathan Ross Goodman as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Paladin

Subsequent to the Quarter

• Announced that all of the conditions had been fulfilled relating to the strategic partnership transaction (the "Transaction") with the Litha Healthcare Group ("Litha") (JSE:LHG) and that the Transaction has been completed with effect from Monday, July 2, 2012

"In the second quarter, Paladin posted solid financial results and achieved several corporate milestones. We successfully completed the integration of Labopharm and moving forward have eliminated all targeted excess costs related to that acquisition. And most notably, we completed our strategic partnership with Litha, enhancing the competitive position of our African licensing platform. In Q3 we will be consolidating Litha's financial results and expect this transaction to be immediately accretive to EBITDA¹." said Mark Beaudet, interim President and CEO of Paladin Labs.

Financial Results

Revenues increased $1.1 million or 3% to $37.1 million for the second quarter of 2012 from $36.0 million for the same period in 2011. The increase is mostly attributable to incremental revenues from products acquired and/or launched including corporate acquisitions since 2011, which contributed $3.2 million to the quarter ended June 30, 2012, including $2.5 million resulting from the acquisition of Labopharm. The increase is also attributable to the sales growth of certain significant promoted products, including Tridural®, Trelstar®, Testim®, Metadol®, and Abstral®, which combined, increased by 4% for the quarter compared to 2011. This growth was negatively impacted by revenue recognized from international tenders during the second quarter of 2011.

Second quarter 2012, EBITDA¹ decreased 6% or $1 million to $17.2 million, compared to EBITDA¹ of $18.2 million in the second quarter of 2011. In 2011, EBITDA included $1.4 million in interest income related to loans to ProStrakan and Labopharm which were settled in 2011.

Net income for the quarter was $10.9 million or $0.52 per fully diluted share, compared to net income of $16.8 million or $0.80 per fully diluted share in the same quarter a year ago.

As at June 30, 2012, Paladin's cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities totaled a record $261.2 million. Subsequent to the quarter, in connection with the Litha Transaction, Paladin deployed $47.5 million. From this strong cash position, Paladin continues to pursue acquisition opportunities.

Product Developments

During the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Paladin demonstrated its continued commitment to growing its product portfolio by signing a license agreement with Nuvo for Synera® and by filing a PLA with Health Canada for Travelan®.

In late May, Paladin entered into a license and supply agreement whereby Paladin was granted the exclusive Canadian rights to market and sell Synera®, upon regulatory approval. Synera® is a topical patch that combines lidocaine, tetracaine and heat, using Nuvo's proprietary "Controlled Heat Assisted Drug Delivery" (CHADD) technology. In connection with this agreement, Paladin agreed to a loan of $8 million to Nuvo in two equal tranches of $4 million, which is secured by Nuvo's Pain assets.

In June 2012, Paladin filed a PLA that was accepted for review by Health Canada for Travelan®, an over-the-counter product for the prevention of travellers' diarrhea. Paladin obtained the exclusive rights to market and sell Travelan® in Canada, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa from Immuron in November 2011.

Corporate Developments

Effective July 2 2012, Paladin completed its most significant strategic investment to date through its investment in Litha, a JSE-listed, diversified healthcare company located in South Africa. Under the terms of the agreement, Paladin acquired the 55.01% of Pharmaplan which it did not previously own and sold 100% of the share capital of Pharmaplan to Litha in exchange for cash of and the issuance of 169,090,909 shares in Litha at ZAR2.75 per share. Paladin also acquired an additional 72,989,078 shares of Litha from the Blackstar Group at ZAR2.75 per share. In connection with the Transaction, Paladin deployed $47.5 million in cash and issued 88,948 shares at $44.97 per share. As a result of this Transaction, Paladin owns 44.5% of the outstanding shares of Litha and, through various shareholder agreements, effectively controls 58% of the shares outstanding of Litha. As a result, Paladin will be consolidating Litha's results beginning in the third quarter of 2012.

During the last several years, Paladin has increasingly structured its license agreements to include select international territories including South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, Paladin has built a portfolio of over 12 products available for commercialization in the South African and Sub-Saharan markets. Through this partnership, Paladin has access to a stronger, more diversified platform on which to commercialize its international product portfolio in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Updated Financial Outlook

As a result of the Transaction and a review of our revenue results to date, Paladin has revised its 2012 forecasts. For fiscal 2012, Paladin expects to generate in excess of $200 million in revenue, of which at least $55 million is attributable to the consolidation of Litha. This forecast does not give effect to the interest in Litha not owned by Paladin and excludes the impact of acquisitions and of product launches resulting from new regulatory approvals that may be made by the Company between now and the end of 2012.

⁽¹⁾EBITDA - Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The term EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) does not have any standardized meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The Company defines EBITDA as earnings before interest expense, other expense (income), taxes, amortization, foreign exchange gains (losses), share of net income in an associate and unusual items; such as write-downs and gains (losses) on intellectual property and investments. EBITDA is calculated and presented consistently from period to period and agrees, on a consolidated basis, with the amount disclosed as "Earnings before under-noted items" on the consolidated statements of income. The Company believes EBITDA to be an important measurement that allows it to assess the operating performance of its ongoing business on a consistent basis without the impact of amortization expenses. The Company excludes amortization expenses because their level depends substantially on non-operating factors such as the historical cost of intangible assets. The Company's method for calculating EBITDA may differ from that used by other issuers and, accordingly, this measure may not be comparable to EBITDA used by other issuers.

Conference Call Notice

Paladin will host a conference call to discuss its second quarter results today at 10:00 a.m. EST. The dial-in number for the conference call is 1-800-891-9945 or 416-981-9000. The call will be audio-cast live and archived for 30 days at [ www.paladinlabs.com ].

About Paladin Labs Inc.

Paladin Labs Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian and select international markets. With this strategy, a focused Canadian national sales team and proven marketing expertise, Paladin has evolved into one of Canada's leading specialty pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at [ www.paladinlabs.com ].

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and predictions. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. The Company considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared, but cautions that these assumptions regarding the future events, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and its subsidiaries, may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Factors and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, are discussed in the annual report as well as in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2011. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events and except as required by law. For additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements, investors should consult the Company's ongoing quarterly filings, annual report and Annual Information Form and other fillings found on SEDAR at [ www.sedar.com ].

Contributing Sources

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