COPENHAGEN, DENMARK and CHALFONT St. GILES, UK – 17 October, 2011 - Affitech A/S (NASDAQ OMX: AFFI) and GE Healthcare Life Sciences announced today that GE Healthcare Life Sciences has executed an exclusive license for the worldwide marketing and sales of products containing recombinant Protein L, granted by Affitech in a patent and know-how license agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, GE Healthcare Life Sciences agrees to pay Affitech a royalty of the net sales of all related products sold by GE Healthcare Life Sciences.
Martin Welschof, Managing Director of Affitech commented, “I am delighted that GE Healthcare Life Sciences has executed the granted license to recombinant Protein L, which has proved to be the only naturally occurring affinity protein useful for working with both non-protein A binding antibodies and antibody fragments. By executing this license GE Healthcare Life Sciences is now in a position to commercialize and widen access to this innovative recombinant Protein L technology.”
Commenting on the execution of the recombinant Protein L license, Catarina Flyborg, General Manager BioProcess Products at GE Healthcare Life Sciences said, “This is an important step forward for GE Healthcare Life Sciences and will enable us to develop new technologies to help solve some of the most difficult challenges faced by our customers in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and in protein science research.”
About Affitech
Affitech A/S is a publicly traded (NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen) human therapeutic antibody company based in Copenhagen, Denmark with R&D facilities in Oslo, Norway. The company utilizes a range of proprietary antibody technologies for the discovery of fully human antibodies for application in oncology, inflammation and other disease areas. CBAS™ (Cell Based Antibody Selection) is Affitech’s premier discovery engine for the isolation of lead antibodies to cell surface molecules. Affitech co-develops its two lead antibody drug programs AT001/r84 and AT008/CCR4 with Russian partner IBC Generium. The Company’s initial focus is on rapid and cost effective development by partnering clinical trials in emerging markets. Further information is available at www.affitech.com.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare’s broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help GE Healthcare customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, GE Healthcare partners with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.
GE’s “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join the Company on its journey as it continuously develops innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit the website at www.gehealthcare.com.
For more information about GE Healthcare Life Sciences’ technologies and services, please visit www.gelifesciences.com For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com/http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com About the Protein L technology
In 2000 Affitech secured full rights to recombinant Protein L and further developed vectors and refined know-how for robust production of the protein, which is a naturally occurring bacterial protein that binds to the kappa light chain of antibodies without interfering with their antigen-binding site. Protein L has proved to be the only naturally occurring affinity protein useful for working with both non-protein A binding antibodies and antibody fragments.
Disclaimer
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forecasts based on uncertainty, since they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and which, by their nature, will have an impact on results of the financial condition and operations of Affitech A/S. There are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. These factors include, among other things, risks associated with technological development, the risk that research & development will not yield new products that achieve commercial success, the impact of competition, the ability to transact viable and profitable commercial deals, the risk of non-approval of patents not yet granted, and difficulties of obtaining relevant governmental approvals for new products.
No expressed or implied representations or warranties are given concerning Affitech A/S or the accuracy or completeness of the information provided herein, and no claims shall be made by the recipient of this news release by virtue of the information contained herein.
Media Contacts
Affitech
Randi Krogsgaard
Director IR & Corporate Communications
+45 2320 1001
ir@affitech.com
GE Healthcare
Dr. Val Jones
Global PR Manager, Life Sciences
+44 7917 175 192
val.jones@ge.com
