Aeterna Zentaris Announces Results of Virtual 2024 Meeting of Shareholders TORONTO, ONTARIO

Zentaris Announces Results of Virtual 2024 Meeting of Shareholders

ONTARIO, July 16, 2024 - Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) (TSX: AEZS) ("Aeterna" or the "Company"),

a specialty biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing a diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products

and active ingredients for healthcare and cosmetics industries, today announced the voting results on the items of business considered

at the virtual annual general and special meeting of shareholders of the Company (the "AGSM") held today.

results of the vote in respect of the election of directors of the Company are set out below:

he did not receive a majority of votes cast for his re-election, as provided in the Canada Business Corporations Act and in order

to facilitate a seamless transition, Mr. Turpin has graciously agreed to continue as a member of the Company's board of directors

(the "Board") and in his role as Chair of the Audit Committee for 90 days from today or, if earlier, when his successor is

to the AGSM, Peter G. Edwards resigned as a director of the Company and therefore did not stand for re-election at the AGSM, resulting

in the nomination of seven directors to the Board (as opposed to eight directors, as was set out in the management information circular

of the Company dated June 13, 2024 (the "Management Information Circular")). The Company does not currently anticipate appointing

any director to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Edwards' resignation.

addition, at the AGSM, Deloitte LLP was appointed as the Company's auditor, and the Name Change Resolution (as defined and described

in the Management Information Circular) was approved. The new name of the Company, COSCIENS Biopharma Inc., is expected to be implemented

in the coming weeks.

Company is an "Eligible Interlisted Issuer" as such term is defined in the TSX Company Manual. As an Eligible Interlisted

Issuer, the Company has relied on an exemption pursuant to Section 602.1 of the TSX Company Manual from Section 613 of the TSX Company

Manual, the effect of which is that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions prescribed by the Toronto Stock Exchange, the

Company will not have to comply with certain Canadian requirements in connection with the Company's long-term incentive plan (the

"Exemption"). As a result, shareholders were not asked to approve the unallocated entitlements under the Company's

long-term incentive plan at the AGSM.

full voting details, please see the report of voting results filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

Aeterna Zentaris Inc.

is a specialty biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of a diverse portfolio of pharmaceutical and

diagnostic products, including those focused on areas of significant unmet medical need. One of Aeterna's lead products is macimorelin

(Macrilen; Ghryvelin), the first and only U.S. FDA and European Commission approved oral test indicated for the diagnosis of adult growth

hormone deficiency (AGHD). Aeterna is also engaged in the development of therapeutic assets and proprietary extraction technology, which

is applied to the production of active ingredients from renewable plant resources currently used in cosmeceutical products (i.e., oat

beta glucan and avenanthramides which are found in leading skincare product brands like Aveeno and Burt's Bees formulations) and

being developed as potential nutraceuticals and/or pharmaceuticals.

company is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market and the Toronto Stock Exchange, and trades on both exchanges under the ticker symbol "AEZS".

For more information, please visit Aeterna's website at www.zentaris.com.

information in this news release has been prepared as of July 16, 2024. Certain statements in this news release, referred to herein as

"forward-looking statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and "forward-looking information" under the provisions of Canadian

securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address circumstances, events, activities, or developments

that could or may or will occur are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as "anticipate",

"assume", "believe", "could", "expect", "forecast", "future",

"goal", "guidance", "intend", "likely", "may", "would" or the

negative or comparable terminology as well as terms usually used in the future and the conditional are generally intended to identify

forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include such words. Forward-looking statements in this news release

include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: the remaining tenure of Mr. Turpin as a director and transition to a successor;

the Company's appointment of a director to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Edwards' resignation; matters related to the Name

Change Resolution, including the anticipated name change of the Company and the receipt of related regulatory approvals for same; and

the satisfaction of Toronto Stock Exchange conditions related to the Company's reliance on the Exemption.

statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the

date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, operational and other risks, uncertainties, contingencies

and other factors, including those described below, which could cause actual results, performance or achievements of the combined Company

to be materially different from results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and, as

such, undue reliance must not be placed on them.

statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which include, among others: the combined Company's present and future

business strategies; operations and performance within expected ranges; anticipated future cash flows; local and global economic conditions

and the environment in which the combined Company operates; anticipated capital and operating costs; uncertainty in product development

and related clinical trials and validation studies, including our reliance on the success of the pediatric clinical trial in the European

Union and U.S. for Macrilen (macimorelin); the result of the DETECT-trial may not support receipt of regulatory approval in child-onset

growth hormone deficiency; results from ongoing or planned pre-clinical studies of macimorelin by the University of Queensland or for

our other products under development may not be successful or may not support advancing the product to human clinical trials; our ability

to raise capital and obtain financing to continue our currently planned operations; our now heavy dependence on the success of Macrilen

(macimorelin) and related out-licensing arrangements and the continued availability of funds and resources to successfully commercialize

the product; the ability to secure strategic partners for late stage development, marketing, and distribution of our products, including

our ability to enter into a new license agreement or similar arrangement following the termination of the license agreement with Novo

Nordisk AG; our ability to enter into out-licensing, development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution agreements with other pharmaceutical

companies and keep such agreements in effect; our ability to protect and enforce our patent portfolio and intellectual property; and

our ability to continue to list our common shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market.

should consult our quarterly and annual filings with the Canadian and U.S. securities commissions for additional information on risks

and uncertainties, including those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F and MD&A filed under the Company's profile on

SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. We disclaim any obligation to update any such risks or uncertainties

or to publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or

developments, unless required to do so by a governmental authority or applicable law.

securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The Toronto Stock Exchange accepts

no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

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