December 5, 2001

Annual General and Special Shareholders' Meeting.
Neurochem reports significant progress.

Neurochem Inc. (TSX : NRM) held its Second Annual General and Special Shareholders' Meeting today reporting significant progress in its Clinical and R&D programs and announcing important upcoming milestones.

"Building on its success to date, Neurochem is poised for a very productive year ahead," said Dr. Louis R. Lamontagne, President and CEO. "We have made important progress in our research and drug development programs and are in a good cash position to be able to advance our activities. Our strategy is to continue focusing on expanding our product portfolio and accelerating our clinical timelines with the newly formulated Alzhemed™ and Cerebril™. We have put in place a comprehensive strategy for the development of therapeutics and diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's Disease with the expansion of our vaccine program and the addition of a collaboration with Nycomed Amersham Imaging," he added.

Current and Upcoming Activities

  • On-going pivotal Phase II/III clinical trial for Fibrillex™

  • Submit IND application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Canadian Therapeutic Product Program (TPP) for Alzhemed™ to begin Phase II clinical trial -Q2 2002

  • Submit IND application to FDA (U.S.) and TPP(Canada) for Cerebril™ to begin Phase II clinical trial - Q2 2002

  • Identify lead compound for diagnostic imaging tool for Alzheimer's Disease - H1 2002

  • Advance vaccine program for Alzheimer's Disease to pre-clinical development - H2 2002

Clinical Highlights

Alzhemed™: Phase I clinical trials with enteric-coated Alzhemed™ tablet provided good safety and tolerability results. The new formulation significantly improved tolerability in healthy young and elderly volunteers allowing for twice the maximum tolerated dose when compared to the results obtained with the capsule. A Phase I multiple dose will be initiated and results are expected in Q1 2002. The Alzhemed™ Clinical Advisory Board will meet in January 2002 and the IND application is expected to be submitted in Q2 2002 for the initiation of a North American Phase II clinical trial.

Cerebril™: A parallel development to Alzhemed™ is ongoing for the development of Cerebril™. At the recent pre-CAB meeting, the world reknown and experienced members of the Cerebril™ Clinical Advisory Board (CAB) assisted Neurochem in the design of the Phase II protocol and clinical plan. The trial will test the efficacy of Cerebril™ in preventing the recurrence of cerebral haemorrhage due to cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The IND application is expected to be submitted in Q2 2002. Biographical notes on the CAB members are attached to the press release.

Fibrillex™: Patient recruitment for the pivotal Phase II/III clinical trial has expanded to 24 sites worldwide and the Company received Orphan Medicinal Product status in Europe earlier this year for Fibrillex™. With the Orphan Drug Designation and the $1.4M grant awarded by the FDA in the United States, Neurochem will be well positioned to benefit from market exclusivity in many industrialized countries upon commercialization of Fibrillex™.

Pre-clinical Results

Neurochem's Epilepsy program is continuing well with the receipt of a US patent for its technology. Lead compounds have been identified and toxicology and pharmacology studies are ongoing.

For the Diabetes Type II program being pursued in collaboration with the University Medical Center Utrecht (The Netherlands), the lead compound, NC-935, has been identified by Neurochem. Toxicology and pharmacology studies are also ongoing.

About Neurochem

Neurochem is an industry leader in the development of therapeutic drugs and diagnostic tools for central nervous system and amyloid-related diseases associated with aging. The Company has built a strong product pipeline by developing a novel, proprietary series of compounds that inhibit the formation, deposition and toxic effects of amyloid fibrils within the body. Neurochem's therapeutic programs target Alzheimer's Disease, Epilepsy, Systemic Amyloidosis, Diabetes Type II and Hemorrhagic Stroke (due to Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy). Neurochem is using a multi-pronged approach towards the development of pharmaceuticals for Alzheimer's Disease, including glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) mimetics, a vaccine, an anti-inflammatory and a neuroprotective approach as well as the creation of a diagnostic imaging tool. The Company has advanced to date three drug candidates to clinical trials: Alzhemed™, for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, Fibrillex™, for the orphan disease Secondary Amyloidosis, and Cerebril™, for Hemorrhagic Stroke. At present, the Company employs over 70 people and is located in Saint-Laurent, Canada (www.neurochem.com).

All of the statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact which are independently verifiable at the date hereof, are forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown. Some examples of known risks are: the impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which Neurochem does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation or otherwise. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements.

For further Information, please contact:
Dr. Lise Hébert
Vice President, Corporate Communications
lhebert@neurochem.com

275 Armand-Frappier
Laval (Quebec)
H7V 4A7
Tel: (450) 680-4500
Fax: (450) 680-4501

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