EXHIBIT 23.1 ACCOUNTANTS' CONSENT The Board of Directors NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: We consent to incorporation by reference in Registration Statement No. 333- 02564 on Form S-3 and registration statement No. 33-79622 on Form S-8 of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of our report dated February 6, 1998, relating to the balance sheets of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as of December 31, 1997 and 1996, and the related statements of operations, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 1997, and for the period from October 22, 1986 (inception) to December 31, 1997, which report appears in the December 31, 1997, Annual Report on Form 10-K of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. KPMG Peat Marwick LLP Salt Lake City, Utah March 30, 1998