Nordic Biotechnology Merger

Nordic Biotechnology Merger Pantheco A/S and Cureon A/S merge to form Santaris Pharma A/S May 19, 2003 The merger between the two Danish biotech companies Pantheco A/S and Cureon A/S was confirmed today following shareholder's meetings of the two companies. The merged company is called Santaris Pharma and will concentrate research on the development of new drugs against cancer. Santaris Pharma will be based in Pantheco's former research facility in the Science Park in Hørsholm, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The new CEO at Santaris Pharma is Mats Lundwall, who previously held the same position at Cureon A/S. Lars Tønnesen, the former CEO of Pantheco A/S, becomes the Chief Financial Officer. The newly merged company begins its research with a substantial capital base of DKK 135 million, which is sufficient to cover its activities for the next 2-3 years. - Santaris Pharma is a strong company, composed of two companies, each with promising technology and exciting projects in the pipeline. The merger will empower the new company in the development of new drugs against cancer based on the so-called Nucleic Acids that are the building blocks of DNA. Additionally, the new company's research and rights to both LNA and PNA technologies will ensure the company has an income stream in the form of licensing agreements, said Jesper Zeuthen, who, together with Gunnar Fernström of Innovationskapital, Søren Carlsen of Novo A/S, and Linda Sjöström of BankInvest, comprise the board of directors of Santaris Pharma during the transitional period. - Pantheco A/S and Cureon A/S complement each other extremely well in that both companies work with the newest generation of the so-called antisense technology. The merger provides the new company with a powerful research and business platform that will make it possible to take a drug candidate to the clinical development stage within the next 2-3 years. This, in combination with a strong Scandinavian investor group, will create the basis for attracting investors both from Europe and the USA, says Søren Carlsen of Novo A/S. Santaris Pharma has 35 staff members. However, as a result of overlapping staff roles, it has not been possible for all previous employees to transfer to the new company. Cureon A/S was founded in 1999 with a view to research LNA (Locked Nucleic Acid), a new DNA analog. Through Cureon, Santaris Pharma has secured exclusive rights to LNA for all treatment areas. Pantheco A/S was founded in 1998 with a view to develop PNA (Peptide Nucleic Acid), a new DNA analog. Through Pantheco, Santaris Pharma has secured exclusive worldwide rights for the use of PNA against specific genes. Santaris Pharma will concentrate its focus on the development of drugs for the treatment of cancer. Santaris Pharma A/S: Adm. Direktør Mats Lundwall, tlf: +45 7026 0096 eller Finansdirektør Lars Tønnesen tlf. +45 4517 9800. Santaris Pharma A/S bestyrelse: Jesper Zeuthen, tlf. +45 7730 9081/ +45 2061 3146 eller Søren Carlsen, tlf. +45 3079 1920/ +45 4442 2120 Santaris Pharma, with headquarters in Medicon Valley at the Danish Science Park in Hørsholm, north of Copenhagen, Denmark, has been formed by the merger of Pantheco A/S and Cureon A/S. The new company employs 35 staff. Santaris Pharma has both the exclusive rights to use LNA in connection with drug development and exclusive worldwide rights for the use of PNA in connection with the development of drugs to treat specific diseases. Santaris Pharma's investors come from all over Scandinavia. The principal investors are: BankInvest, Lønmodtagernes Dyrtidsfond, Novo A/S, Innovationskapital, Dansk Kapitalanlæg, Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Teknoinvest. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/20/20030520BIT00270/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/20/20030520BIT00270/wkr0002.pdf