BELLUS Health Sells Subsidiary Thallion Pharmaceuticals to Taro Pharmaceuticals

BELLUS Health Inc. has entered into a share purchase agreement with Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the sale of BELLUS Health's wholly-owned subsidiary Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. including all the rights to the drug candidate ShigamabTM.

Pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement, Taro is acquiring all issued and outstanding shares of Thallion for a potential total consideration of CA$2.7 million, consisting of an upfront payment of CA$2.3 million and a potential future payment of CA$0.4 million contingent upon the completion of a pre-established milestone event, expected to occur within 24 months of the closing of the transaction. In addition, BELLUS Health will receive a portion of certain post-approval revenues related to the ShigamabTM program.

"This transaction supports the further development of ShigamabTM and allows us to focus our efforts on the rest of our pipeline including the recently in-licensed BLU-5937, a drug candidate for chronic cough," said Roberto Bellini, President and Chief Executive Officer of BELLUS Health. "The upfront proceeds from this transaction also meaningfully extend our cash runway to Q4 2018."