Exhibit 31.1

SARBANES-OXLEY ACT SECTION 302(a) CERTIFICATION

I, Francois Nader, President and Chief Executive Officer, certify that:



|1. | I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.;
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|2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with
respect to the period covered by this annual report;
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|3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this annual report, fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods
presented in this annual report;
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|4. | The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange
Act rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
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| | a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed
under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us
by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this annual report is being prepared;
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| | b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be
designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
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| | c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our
conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on
such evaluation; and
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| | d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and
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|5. | The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
function):
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| | a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
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| | b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrant's internal control over financial reporting.
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|Date: March 16, 2009 | /s/ FRANCOIS NADER
                      Francois NaderPresident and Chief Executive Officer
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