Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Adam C. Derbyshire                 Mike Freeman
           Vice President and                 Director, Investor Relations and
           Chief Financial Officer            Corporate Communications
           919-862-1000                       919-862-1000


                        SALIX PHARMACEUTICALS TO PRESENT
                        AT UBS WARBURG GLOBAL SPECIALTY
                           PHARMACEUTICALS CONFERENCE

RALEIGH, NC, May 29, 2002 - Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Nasdaq:SLXP) today
announced that the Company will present at the UBS Warburg Global Specialty
Pharmaceuticals Conference in New York, NY on Wednesday, June 5, 2002 at 11:00
a.m. EDT.

Interested parties can access a live audio web cast of the presentation at
http://www.ubswarburg.com. A replay of the presentation will be available
- --------------------------
beginning at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, June 6, and will be available until July 6,
2002.

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, develops
and markets prescription pharmaceutical products for the treatment of
gastrointestinal diseases. Salix's strategy is to in-license late-stage or
marketed proprietary therapeutic drugs; complete the required development and
regulatory submission of these products; and market them through the Company's
60-member gastroenterology specialty sales force. Salix's first marketed product
is COLAZAL(R), an anti-inflammatory drug approved for the treatment of mildly to
moderately active ulcerative colitis. The Company launched the product in the
U.S. through its specialty sales force in January 2001. COLAZAL was well
tolerated in clinical studies. In clinical trials, patients reported the
following adverse events most frequently: headache (8%); abdominal pain (6%);
diarrhea (5%); nausea (5%); vomiting (4%); respiratory infection (4%); and
arthralgia (4%). Withdrawal from therapy due to adverse events was comparable to
placebo. Salix's next product candidate is




rifaximin currently in development for the potential treatment of infections of
the lower gastrointestinal tract. The Company submitted an NDA for rifaximin for
the treatment of travelers' diarrhea to the FDA on December 26, 2001. Salix
trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol "SLXP."

For more information please contact the Company at 919-862-1000 or visit our web
site at www.salixpharm.com.
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     Please Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements
     regarding future events. These statements are just predictions and are
     subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual events or
     results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include risks
     of regulatory review and clinical trials, the need to acquire additional
     products and management of rapid growth. The reader is referred to the
     documents that the Company files from time to time with the Securities and
     Exchange Commission.