Study results presented in New England Journal of Medicine strengthen Hansa Medical's belief in the potential of IdeS

A recent study published on March 10, 2016 in the New England Journal of Medicine (Orandi et al. 2016;374:940-50) demonstrates a clear survival benefit in patients who received kidney transplants from HLA-incompatible live donors, compared to patients who remained on the waiting list for kidneys from deceased donors, or no transplant at all.

“The study highlights the need for and benefit from desensitization in kidney transplantation. Although IdeS was not subject of this study, it strengthens our belief that IdeS has the potential to play a very important role in kidney transplantation going forward. Our vision for IdeS is to make desensitization possible for highly and moderately HLA-sensitized patients relying on either deceased or living donor donation.” comments Göran Arvidson, CEO of Hansa Medical AB.

Current protocols for desensitization, primarily involving plasmapheresis, immune globulins and rituximab, require meticulous planning and timing and these are not feasible in most cases for deceased donor kidney transplantation.

IdeS with its rapid and powerful pharmacological effect is currently in clinical development. It is administered just prior to transplantation and has the potential to increase the number of sensitized patients receiving kidney transplants. In 2015, 70 percent of donated kidneys in the US were donated from deceased donors.

The information in this press release is disclosed pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was released for public disclosure on March 11, 2016 at 08.45 CET.

For further information, please contact:
Hansa Medical AB
Göran Arvidson, CEO
Mobile: 46 70-633 30 42
E-mail: goran.arvidson@hansamedical.com
www.hansamedical.com

About Hansa Medical AB
Hansa Medical is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on novel immunomodulatory enzymes. The lead project IdeS is an antibody-degrading enzyme in clinical development, with potential use in transplantation and rare autoimmune diseases. Additional projects focus on development of new antibody modulating enzymes, as well as HBP, a diagnostic biomarker for prediction of severe sepsis at emergency departments that is already introduced on the market. The company is based in Lund, Sweden. Hansa Medical’s share (ticker: HMED) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.