Pharmacia Corporation and BioInvent enter into agreement on large-scale production of antibodies

Pharmacia Corporation and BioInvent enter into agreement on large-scale production of antibodies BioInvent International AB (SAX:BINV) and Pharmacia Diagnostics AB today announced an agreement on large-scale production of a monoclonal antibody product. With its ImmunoCAP technology, Pharmacia Diagnostics is a worldleader in the laboratory diagnosis of allergies. Its tests are used both by doctors working in primary care and by allergy specialists. Pharmacia's tests stand out because of their good clinical performance - the result of always using high quality components for tests. Allergies represent a major area of widespread disease that remains on the increase. Being able to diagnose allergies correctly is vital if patients are to be given the right treatment. Under the agreement BioInvent will carry out large-scale cGMP production (current Good Manufacturing Practice), i.e. cell culture and purification of the antibodies that will be used in in vitro diagnosis, through its subsidiary BioInvent Production AB. "Pharmacia Diagnostics is currently in a strong expansion phase focusing on the primary care sector. This has led to substantially increased sales volumes, as a result of which we are currently investing so as to be able to double our production volume. BioInvent's capacity to produce and supply high quality monoclonal antibody products is therefore very important for our continued expansion in the market," says Gunilla Sjödén, head of Technical Operations at Pharmacia Diagnostics. "Pharmacia Diagnostics is a world leader in the market for diagnostic products. We are delighted to be starting this cooperation," Cristina Glad, President of BioInvent Production AB, comments on the agreement. -- ENDS -- For more information please contact: BioInvent International AB Buchanan Communications Svein Mathisen Nicola How / Louise Bolton President and CEO Tel: +44 20 7466 5000 Tel.: +46 46-286 85 67 Mobile: +46 708-97 82 13 E-mail: sm@bioinvent.com Cristina Glad President, BioInvent Production AB Tel: +46 (0)46-286 85 51 Mobile: +46 (0)708-16 85 70 E-mail: cg@bioinvent.com Notes to Editors: BioInvent International AB, listed on the O-list of the Swedish Exchange, is a biotechnology company devoted to providing state-of-the- art antibody technology to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. A cornerstone is its proprietary human antibody gene library, n-CoDeR(TM). This is a collection of more than ten billion functional antibody genes that are ready to be screened against desired antigens. n-CoDeR(TM) has been used successfully for the isolation of antibody fragments with specificity for a number of antigens, including peptides, proteins and carbohydrates. BioInvent offers biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies access to n-CoDeR(TM) through collaborative research and development programs. BioInvent's capabilities in large-scale contract manufacturing of protein-based drugs through a state-of-the-art cGMP-certified facility further underpin its competitiveness in the antibody arena. BioInvent has been supplying monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins and other recombinant proteins to the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for therapeutic use since 1988. These antibodies and proteins are used in all phases of clinical trials in both the US and across Europe. The cGMP-certified manufacturing facility is designed to meet FDA and EU regulations from early clinical development to commercial scale-up, with multi-kilogram annual capacity. BioInvent is headquartered in Lund, Sweden, employing a total of 115 people. For further information, see www.bioinvent.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/09/25/20030925BIT01000/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/09/25/20030925BIT01000/wkr0002.pdf