[March 20, 2014]

Ipsen Announces That Its Controlling Shareholder, Mayroy, Sold Approximately 7% of Ipsen's Share Capital via Private Placement

Regulatory News:

Ipsen (Paris:IPN) (Euronext: IPN; ADR: IPSEY) announced today that Mayroy, its controlling shareholder, had completed an institutional private placement of 5 888 290 shares representing c.7% of Ipsen's share capital, at a price of €29.50 per share. As part of this transaction, Ipsen purchased 842 542 of its own shares (representing 1% of its share capital) to be cancelled.

Ipsen has been informed that the proceeds of this sale will be used to partially finance the repurchase by Mayroy of the entire stake held in its share capital by its minority shareholder, Opera Finance Europe, a Luxembourg-registered company controlled by Mrs Véronique Beaufour. Opera Finance Europe and its stakeholders do not sit on the Board of Directors of Ipsen and play no active role in the management of the Group.

The repurchase of the balance of the stake of Opera Finance Europe will be financed by the delivery by Mayroy of Ipsen shares representing c.4% of Ipsen share capital. These shares will be placed into an escrow account for a period of 12 months following completion of the transaction.

As a result of this transaction, Ipsen's free-float increases to c.40%¹ from c.30%. Mayroy's stake in Ipsen's share capital and voting rights now amounts to c.57.6%¹ and c.73.3%¹, respectively. The indirect stake held by Beech Tree (controlling shareholder of Mayroy) in Ipsen has slightly increased.

Ipsen has also been informed that the shareholders' agreement between Beech Tree, its subsidiaries, and the Schwabe family, which was entered into on December 31, 2008 in order to preserve the stability of Mayroy's controlling share ownership structure, has been renewed until June 30, 2015.

About Ipsen

Ipsen is a global specialty-driven pharmaceutical company with total sales exceeding €1.2 billion in 2013. Ipsen's ambition is to become a leader in specialty healthcare solutions for targeted debilitating diseases. Its development strategy is supported by 3 franchises: neurology, endocrinology and uro-oncology. Moreover, the Group has an active policy of partnerships. Ipsen's R&D is focused on its innovative and differentiated technological platforms, peptides and toxins. In 2013, R&D expenditure totaled close to €260 million, representing more than 21% of Group sales. Moreover, Ipsen also has a significant presence in primary care. The Group has close to 4,600 employees worldwide. Ipsen's shares are traded on segment A of Euronext Paris (stock code: IPN, ISIN code: FR0010259150) and eligible to the "Service d Règlement Différé" ("SRD"). The Group is part of the SBF 120 index. Ipsen has implemented a Sponsored Level I American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program, which trade on the over-the-counter market in the United States under the symbol IPSEY. For more information on Ipsen, visit www.ipsen.com.

Forward Looking Statements

The forward-looking statements, objectives and targets contained herein are based on the Group's management strategy, current views and assumptions. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated herein. All of the above risks could affect the Group's future ability to achieve its financial targets, which were set assuming reasonable macroeconomic conditions based on the information available today. Use of the words "believes," "anticipates" and "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, including the Group's expectations regarding future events, including regulatory filings and determinations. Moreover, the targets described in this document were prepared without taking into account external growth assumptions and potential future acquisitions, which may alter these parameters. These objectives are based on data and assumptions regarded as reasonable by the Group. These targets depend on conditions or facts likely to happen in the future, and not exclusively on historical data. Actual results may depart significantly from these targets given the occurrence of certain risks and uncertainties, notably the fact that a promising product in early development phase or clinical trial may end up never being launched on the market or reaching its commercial targets, notably for regulatory or competition reasons. The Group must face or might face competition from generic products that might translate into a loss of market share. Furthermore, the Research and Development process involves several stages each of which involves the substantial risk that the Group may fail to achieve its objectives and be forced to abandon its efforts with regards to a product in which it has invested significant sums. Therefore, the Group cannot be certain that favourable results obtained during pre-clinical trials will be confirmed subsequently during clinical trials, or that the results of clinical trials will be sufficient to demonstrate the safe and effective nature of the product concerned. There can be no guarantees a product will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that the product will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the Group's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the Group's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions. The Group also depends on third parties to develop and market some of its products which could potentially generate substantial royalties; these partners could behave in such ways which could cause damage to the Group's activities and financial results. The Group cannot be certain that its partners will fulfil their obligations. It might be unable to obtain any benefit from those agreements. A default by any of the Group's partners could generate lower revenues than expected. Such situations could have a negative impact on the Group's business, financial position or performance. The Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward looking statements, targets or estimates contained in this press release to reflect any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, unless so required by applicable law. The Group's business is subject to the risk factors outlined in its registration documents filed with the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers.

¹ Calculation taking into account the placement aforementioned, the cancellation of the Ipsen shares purchased as part of this transaction, and the cancellation of the 800 000 shares purchased as part of the program announced on 6 November 2013

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