Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Announces Changes to Executive Management Structure and Board of Directors

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - January 11, 2010) - Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX: TLN) today announced that the Board of Directors of the Company has promoted Allan Mandelzys, Ph.D., to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Mandelzys joined Thallion in 2007 as Executive Vice President of Licensing & Corporate Development and was responsible for directing all licensing, research and intellectual property activities of the Company. The Board of Directors has also appointed Lloyd M. Segal, as Executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Segal had held the senior executive role with Thallion since its inception in March, 2007. These changes are effective immediately.

“Dr. Mandelzys has played a key role in developing and implementing Thallion’s corporate strategies and was instrumental in establishing the Company’s recently announced relationship with LFB Biotechnologies to partner our Shigamabs® asset,” said Mr. Segal. “Allan’s expertise and experience in collaborating with pharmaceutical partners will be critical to the success of Thallion. As CEO, Allan will be responsible for establishing and executing all of the Company’s operational activities. With the support of one of the strongest biotech management teams anywhere, Allan is exceptionally qualified and well positioned to lead Thallion into the future.”

“Lloyd’s leadership has been pivotal to Thallion since its inception in 2007. He built and led a team that took the Company through a tremendous period of change in a challenging environment, the merger that created Thallion, the successful sale of Caprion Proteomics and our most recent Shigamabs® announcement,” said Franklin Berger, the Lead Independent Director of Thallion’s Board. “With his appointment to Executive Chairman, Lloyd will continue to play an active role in supporting the Thallion management team and overseeing the strategic direction of the Company. His leadership has placed the Company in a strong financial position, and this change will create a leaner management team focused primarily on the development and commercialization of Shigamabs®.”

Dr. Mandelzys has more than 10 years of executive management experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. He formerly served as Vice President, Business Development for Labopharm Inc. Dr. Mandelzys holds both a Ph.D. in physiology and an M.B.A. from McGill University, a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto and received his post-doctoral training at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology.

About Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX: TLN) is a biotechnology company developing pharmaceutical products in the areas of infectious disease and oncology. The Company’s clinical programs include Shigamabs® and TLN-4601, a novel anti-cancer therapy. Shigamabs® is a dual antibody product for the treatment of Shiga toxin producing E. coli bacterial infections which is ready to begin a Phase II clinical program. Additional information about Thallion can be obtained at www.thallion.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believe”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect Thallion’s current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the obtaining of court and other regulatory approvals and consents, the satisfaction of closing conditions, changing market conditions, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process and other risks detailed from time-to-time in Thallion’s ongoing filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Thallion undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable Canadian securities laws.