Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS) today announced that Gerald T. Proehl, president and chief executive officer, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2013 award for the Life Sciences category in the San Diego region. Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year is a prestigious business award that recognizes the significant contributions of entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

After a successful career in sales and marketing at Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc., Mr. Proehl joined Santarus in 1999 and became president, chief executive officer and director in 2002. He was the driving force at Santarus to build a positive corporate culture focused on five core values: Teamwork, Ownership, Productivity, Integrity and Quality. Under Mr. Proehl's leadership, Santarus has built a portfolio of five commercial products and a robust product development pipeline. The company's strong financial performance and success in its clinical programs has led to the creation of significant shareholder value.

"It's an exceptional honor to receive the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 award in the San Diego region," said Mr. Proehl. "Outstanding achievement like we have experienced at Santarus requires the cooperative effort of many people, and I've been fortunate to work with an extremely talented group of individuals. We have worked through some challenging times and have recently celebrated exciting successes, including the commercial launch of UCERIS® (budesonide). We look forward to continuing to grow Santarus through our development and commercialization of proprietary products that address the needs of physician specialists and their patients."

Now in its 27th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has expanded globally to recognize company builders in over 140 cities and in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Regional award winners go on to compete at the national level. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 16, 2013. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum®, a prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

About Santarus

Santarus, Inc. is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing proprietary products that address the needs of patients treated by physician specialists. The company's current commercial efforts are focused on five products. UCERIS® (budesonide) extended release tablets for the induction of remission in patients with active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and ZEGERID® (omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate) for the treatment of certain upper gastrointestinal disorders are promoted to gastroenterologists. GLUMETZA® (metformin hydrochloride extended release tablets) and CYCLOSET® (bromocriptine mesylate) tablets, which are indicated as adjuncts to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes, and FENOGLIDE® (fenofibrate) tablets, which is indicated as an adjunct to diet to reduce high cholesterol, are promoted to endocrinologists and other physicians who treat patients with type 2 diabetes. Full prescribing and safety information for Santarus' products is available at www.santarus.com or by contacting Santarus at 1-888-778-0887.

Santarus' product development pipeline includes the investigational drug RUCONEST® (recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor). A biologics license application (BLA) for RUCONEST was submitted to the FDA in April 2013 for the treatment of acute angioedema attacks in patients with HAE. Santarus is also developing rifamycin SV MMX®, which is in Phase III clinical testing for treatment of travelers' diarrhea. In addition, the company has completed a Phase I clinical program with SAN-300, an investigational monoclonal antibody. More information about Santarus is available at www.santarus.com.

Santarus cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Santarus that any of its plans or objectives will be achieved. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Santarus' business, including, without limitation: difficulties or delays in development, testing, manufacturing and marketing of, and obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals for, Santarus' products; and other risks detailed in Santarus' prior press releases as well as in public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and Santarus undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Santarus®, FENOGLIDE®, UCERIS®, and ZEGERID® are registered trademarks of Santarus, Inc. GLUMETZA® is a trademark of Biovail Laboratories International S.r.l. licensed exclusively in the United States to Depomed, Inc. CYCLOSET® is a trademark of VeroScience LLC. MMX® is a trademark of Cosmo Technologies Limited. RUCONEST® is a trademark of Pharming Group N.V.

COMPANY CONTACT:
Santarus, Inc.
Martha L. Hough
VP Finance & Investor Relations
858-314-5824
or
Debra P. Crawford
Chief Financial Officer
858-356-5932
or
INVESTOR CONTACT:
Westwicke Partners, LLC
Stefan Loren, Ph.D., 858-356-5930
sloren@westwicke.com
or
Robert Uhl, 858-314-5708
robert.uhl@westwicke.com