Basilea's CEO Ronald Scott will retire. Chief Commercial Officer David Veitch named as successor. Changes in the Board of Directors

Basel, Switzerland, February 21, 2018 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) reported today that Chief Executive Officer Ronald Scott will retire after 18 years with the company. Basilea's Board of Directors has appointed David Veitch, currently Basilea's Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Management Committee, to succeed Mr. Scott in the role of Chief Executive Officer effective April 19, 2018.

Mr. Veitch has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has a strong track-record in leading national and international cross-functional pharmaceutical organizations. He joined Basilea in 2014 as Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Mr. Veitch led the successful launch of Basilea's two novel hospital anti-infectives, the antifungal Cresemba and the antibiotic Zevtera. He built effective organizations and capabilities at both the country and headquarter levels in order to successfully commercialize both products in key European markets. In addition he has led the implementation of Basilea's various partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies around the world in order to maximize the global commercial potential of Cresemba and Zevtera. Prior to joining Basilea, Mr. Veitch served as the President of European Operations at Savient Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this, Mr. Veitch served at Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals ("BMS") as Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle-East & Africa (EMEA), leading brand commercialization for the region. In addition, he has held various other senior management and commercial positions at BMS including as General Manager, UKPharmaceuticals and General Manager, Belgium Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that Mr. Veitch held senior management positions at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Veitch holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Bristol (U.K.).

Domenico Scala, Basilea's Chairman, commented: "We are very pleased that David Veitch will follow Ron Scott in the role of Chief Executive Officer at Basilea. David Veitch is an esteemed business leader with a profound knowledge and long experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has shown entrepreneurial drive in various roles and proven his ability in leadership, strategy and execution, most recently by successfully leading Basilea's global commercial strategy and operations where he delivered outstanding results."

Mr. Scala further commented: "Ron Scott assisted in the founding of Basilea in 2000 and has significantly contributed to the company's success. As Basilea's Chief Financial Officer he was not only one of the key drivers for Basilea's initial public offering in Switzerland in 2004 but for more than a decade he was also responsible for ensuring that the company had the necessary capital to execute on its R&D and commercial strategy. Later, under his leadership as CEO, Basilea brought two novel hospital drugs, the antifungal Cresemba and the antibiotic Zevtera, to the market and entered into development and commercialization partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies around the world, thereby creating a foundation for sustainable growth for many years to come. We sincerely thank Ron for his leadership and loyalty and especially for his valuable contributions to Basilea's progress from founding to now."

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. also reported today that Professor Daniel Lew and Dr. Thomas Rinderknecht will not stand for re-election as Board members at Basilea's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 18, 2018. After 15 years serving as a Board member, Prof. Daniel Lew leaves the Board in accordance with the company's Organizational Regulations which define that a member of the Board of Directors shall resign effective as per the ordinary shareholders meeting immediately following completion of their 70^th year of age. After 7 years on the Board, Dr. Thomas Rinderknecht does not stand for re-election due to other commitments. The Board of Directors will propose Mr. Ronald Scott for election as a member of the Board at Basilea's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 18, 2018.

Mr. Scala commented: "On behalf of the Board, I thank Professor Lew and Dr. Rinderknecht for their valuable contributions. Professor Lew has made significant contributions to the company's progress in research and development with his profound medical knowledge of anti-infectives. Dr. Rinderknecht has counselled the company on legal issues with his deep legal knowledge and chaired the company's Corporate Governance Committee. We wish them continued success in their future endeavors. The Board is happy that Ron Scott has accepted to stand for election as a director at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. We are convinced that his strategic thinking and detailed knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and capital markets will be of tremendous value to support Basilea in its continued growth."