Sobi enters partnership with Tigenix for the commercialisation of ChondroCelect

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (Sobi) announced today that the company has acquired the licencing rights to market and distribute ChondroCelect, a cell-based medicinal product for the repair of cartilage defects of the knee, from TiGenix NV (Euronext Brussels: TIG). 

ChondroCelect was the first cell-based product to be approved in Europe. It is currently available for patients and reimbursed in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. Sobi will continue to market and distribute the product where it is currently available and will work to expand the product's availability to patients in a much wider area, including the rest of the European Union, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

"We are delighted to reach this agreement with Sobi", said Eduardo Bravo, CEO of Tigenix. "With their experience of marketing and distributing specialty products Sobi has the ability to bring ChondroCelect to a far greater number of patients in many more countries."

"ChondroCelect is an exciting therapy, and we are proud to expand our offering to orthopaedic patients," said Anders Edvell, MD, PhD, and Vice President Sobi Partner Products. "This partnership is an excellent fit with Partner Products' strategy for achieving sustainable patient access to new and innovative treatments with a pan-European scope."

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About ChondroCelect

ChondroCelect, indicated for cartilage repair in the knee, is a cell-based medicinal product for use in autologous chondrocyte implantation in which cells are taken from the patient's own knee, multiplied to reach a large quantity, and then re-implanted at the site of the defect.

About Sobi

Sobi is an international specialty healthcare company dedicated to rare diseases. Our mission is to develop and deliver innovative therapies and services to improve the lives of patients. The product portfolio is primarily focused on Inflammation and Genetic diseases, with three late stage biological development projects within Haemophilia and Neonatology. We also market a portfolio of specialty and rare disease products for partner companies. Sobi is a pioneer in biotechnology with world-class capabilities in protein biochemistry and biologics manufacturing. In 2013, Sobi had total revenues of SEK 2.2 billion (€253 M) and about 550 employees. The share (STO: SOBI) is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. More information is available at www.sobi.com.

About Sobi Partner Products

Sobi Partner Products (SPP) is a business unit within Sobi which offers a unique commercial platform for partners with niche and specialty products. SPP provides extensive knowledge and local experience through our direct presence across EU, Eastern Europe, Russia, Middle East and North Africa. We apply an integrated commercial, medical, and market access approach to products which address important unmet needs, spanning from named patient use (NPU) programs, through to reimbursement and full commercialization, primarily in the Centre of Expertise setting.

For more information please contact

Media relations
Oskar Bosson, Head of Communications      
T: +46 70 410 71 80  
oskar.bosson@sobi.com                              

Investor relations
Jörgen Winroth, Vice President, Head of Investor Relations
T: +1 347-224-0819, +1 212-579-0506, +46 8 697 2135
jorgen.winroth@sobi.com