Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Receives Arbitration Decision on TLN-232 License Agreement

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - June 16, 2010) - Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX: TLN) today announced that it received notification from the Secretariat of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration that the Arbitral Tribunal has rendered a partial award in favor of the licensor of TLN-232. This binding award establishes that the License Agreement was duly terminated by the licensor effective December 22, 2008. The award stipulates that Thallion shall return all materials and information related to TLN-232 originally obtained from the licensor. Thallion is also held to be liable, in principle, for damages caused to the licensor. As is typical for this procedural approach, a decision on potential damages has been deferred to a further or final award following deliberations expected during a second part of the proceedings, unless a settlement between the parties can be reached.

"Although we are disappointed with the outcome related to this first part of the arbitration proceedings, this decision does not impact our current strategy of focusing on our lead asset Shigamabs® while we work towards initiating a Phase II study in South America later this year," said Dr. Allan Mandelzys, CEO of Thallion. "Thallion will now close its Phase II trial evaluating TLN-232 in metastatic melanoma patients which the company suspended last July following the initiation of the dispute with our licensor. We would like to thank the patients and all the clinical investigators for their participation in the study and for their patience and understanding throughout this process."

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 anticipated to enter Phase II clinical testing in the second half of 2010. 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 determination of the level of the licensor's damages by the Arbitral Tribunal as part of the final award, 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.