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 WACHOVIA SECURITIES CONFERENCE

RALEIGH, NC, June 19, 2002 - Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Nasdaq:SLXP) today
announced that the Company will present at the Wachovia Securities' Twelfth
Annual Nantucket Conference on Wednesday, June 26 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Interested parties can access a live audio web cast of the presentation at
http://www.salixpharm.com. A replay of the presentation will be available
beginning at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 26, and will be available through July
2, 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.