Cipher appoints Dr. William Claypool to Board of Directors

Toronto Stock Exchange Symbol: DND

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc.
(TSX: DND) today announced that Dr. William Claypool, M.D., has been appointed
to its Board of Directors.
Since October 2008, Dr. Claypool has been a Senior Partner at Pennmark
Associates, LLC, a pharmaceutical development consulting firm. Prior to that,
Dr. Claypool served as President, CEO and Chairman of Phoenix Data Systems,
Inc, from January 2001 until it was acquired by Bio-Imaging Technologies, Inc.
in March 2008. From January 2001 until June 2001, he served as President and
CEO of The GI Company. From 1991 to 2001 Dr. Claypool held a number of senior
management positions with SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, including Senior
Vice-President and Director of Worldwide Clinical Development and Medical
Affairs. Dr. Claypool has served as Director of ViroPharma since December 2003
and was a member of the Board of Directors and served on the Audit Committee
of 3 Dimensional Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Claypool received his medical degree
from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
"I am very pleased to welcome William to Cipher's Board," said William
Garriock, Chairman of Cipher Pharmaceuticals. "He brings a wealth of clinical
development expertise, having led global clinical development at SmithKline
Beecham, as well as significant Board-level experience in the life sciences
industry, which makes him a valuable addition to our Board of Directors."
Dr. Claypool will serve on Cipher's Nominating and Governance, Compensation,
and Audit Committees.

About Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Cipher Pharmaceuticals is a drug development company focused on
commercializing novel formulations of successful, currently marketed molecules
using advanced drug delivery technologies. Cipher's strategy is to in-license
products that incorporate proven drug delivery technologies and advance them
through the clinical development and regulatory approval stages, after which
the products are out-licensed to international partners. Because Cipher's
products are based on proven technology platforms applied to currently
marketed drugs, they are expected to have lower approval risk, shorter
development timelines and significantly lower development costs. The Company's
lead compound, CIP-FENOFIBRATE, received final approval from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration and Health Canada in the first quarter of 2006. The
product is being marketed in the United States by Kowa Pharmaceuticals America
under the label Lipofen(R). In addition, Cipher is developing formulations of
the pain reliever tramadol (tentative FDA approval in February 2009) and the
acne treatment isotretinoin (FDA approvable letter in April 2007).
Cipher is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol 'DND' and has
approximately 24 million shares outstanding. For more information, please
visit www.cipherpharma.com.

SOURCE Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Craig Armitage, Investor Relations, The Equicom Group, (416) 815-0700 ext 278,
(416) 815-0080 fax, carmitage@equicomgroup.com; Larry Andrews, President and
CEO, Cipher Pharmaceuticals, (905) 602-5840 ext 324, (905) 602-0628 fax,
landrews@cipherpharma.com