Aerocrine reaches milestone in Australia, receives marketing approval

SOLNA – 24 May 2012 – Aerocrine AB (OMX Nordic Exchange: AERO) announces that its airway inflammation monitor, NIOX MINO®, and the NIOX MINO® Test Kit, have received marketing approval for the Australian market. An approval is an important step towards receiving reimbursement for inflammation monitoring with FeNO in asthma management.

Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), decided in early May 2012 to give NIOX MINO® Airway Inflammation Monitor and NIOX MINO® Test Kit marketing approval in Australia. NIOX MINO® and the Test Kits will be marketed and sold by Aerocrine’s distributor Niche Medical (Innervate Pty Ltd). The approval has lead to that Aerocrine, in cooperation with its distributor, now develops the strategy for obtaining reimbursement from public as well as private health insurance programs on the Australian market. These components are key factors for the company’s opportunities to grow sales in the future.

-          All progress in Australia is important since there is a great potential in that market. But it is important to remember that we have quite a long way to go before sales can take off. From a strategic perspective, the Australian market is very important as Australia have a number of recognized and prominent research groups working with FeNO. The marketing approval enables us to reach out to these groups as well as opens up for strategic sales, which increases the acceptance and awareness of our products and the method, says Morten Gunvad, VP Commercial Operations Europe & Asia at Aerocrine.

Interesting research in Australia

Several world-renowned asthma researchers in Australia are in favor of measurement of FeNO, the method that Aerocrine has developed. One of them is Peter Gibson who, along with several other researchers, in 2011 conducted a clinical study in Australia and New Zealand which was published in the prestigious journal the Lancet. The study showed that FeNO measurement is an important tool in asthma management. The patient group that continually measured their FeNO had fewer asthma attacks (compared to the control group that did not measure FeNO) and also used less medication.

Asthma – a growing international disease and a big health care problem in Australia

Asthma is a fast growing health problem caused by a chronic inflammation in the airways which is often associated with episodes of respiratory distress, chest tightness and coughing. From today’s 300 million asthmatics worldwide the number of asthmatics is estimated to globally increase to 400-450 million in 2025, according to the patient organization EFA (European Federation of Allergy and Airway Diseases).

Only in Australia nearly one in ten residents, or about 2 million people, suffer from asthma. Even though the prevalence in recent years has been decreasing, the death rates have increased. In 2009, 411 people died as a result of their asthma, a number that has increased by 45 % from 1997 to 2009.

Insufficient control of asthma is common and leads to a poorer quality of life and incorrect dosage of medication. Aerocrine’s product NIOX MINO ® enables the quick and easy accessed controls required for proper medication of the disease.

For more information, contact:
Scott Myers, President & CEO, Aerocrine, Phone: +46 768 788 379
Morten Gunvad, VP Commercial Operations Europe & Asia, Aerocrine, Phone: +46 768 669 387

About Aerocrine

AerocrineAB(publ.) is a medical technology company focused on the improved management and care of patients with inflammatory airway diseases. As the pioneer and leader in the technology to monitor and manage airway inflammation, Aerocrine markets NIOX®Flex and NIOX MINO®. Both products enable fast and reliable management of airway inflammation and may therefore play a critical role in more effective diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients with inflammatory airway diseases such as asthma. Aerocrine is based inSwedenwith subsidiaries in theUS,Germanyand theUK. Aerocrine’s shares were listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange on 15 June 2007.

Aerocrine discloses the information provided in this press release pursuant to the Securities Markets Act. The information was provided for public release on 24 May 2012 at 08.00 am CET.