News

Aprea to present at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in Washington, DC, in April 2013

STOCKHOLM – April 3, 2013. Aprea AB today announces that a poster entitled “Strong synergistic effects with cisplatin and APR-246, a novel compound reactivating mutant p53, in ovarian cancer cell lines and primary cells from patients” will be presented at the upcoming AACR meeting in Washington, DC, USA, in April 2013. Aprea is a Karolinska Development portfolio company.

Alzheimer antibody enters into Phase IIb

BioArctic’s monoclonal antibody for Alzheimer’s disease, BAN2401, has entered the next clinical study after successfully passed phase IIa. Safety and tolerability data indicate that BAN2401 is safe and well tolerated agent. Sixty Alzheimer patients received BAN2401 and 20 got placebo.

Investigator sponsored Phase I/II study of AXL1717 in patients with brain tumors started in the US

STOCKHOLM, January 21, 2013. Axelar AB, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, announced today that an investigator sponsored Phase I/II study with AXL1717 in patients with malignant astrocytomas, a type of brain tumor, has commenced in the United States.

Dilaforette is granted SEK 2.85m for development of sevuparin for the treatment of severe malaria

STOCKHOLM – November 2, 2012. Dilaforette announces today that it has been granted SEK 2.85m from the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems, Vinnova, for the development of sevuparin, a new potential treatment for severe malaria.

Pharmanest appoints Alan Raffensperger as Chairman of the Board

Stockholm, November 1, 2012. Today Pharmanest AB, a Karolinska Development portfolio company, announced that Alan Raffensperger, Per Langö and Gunilla Ekström have been elected as new members of the Board. Alan Raffensperger was elected Chairman. The Board of Pharmanest has hereby gained comprehensive experience in the commercialization of new, innovative products and is well prepared to progress the candidate drug SHACT, for pain relief in gynecological procedures.

Low levels of anti-PC predict vein graft failure

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – October 25, 2012. Athera Biotechnologies AB, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, today announced that results from a new study were presented at the Pacific Northwest Vascular Society Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada. The data shows that low levels of plasma anti-PC, measured with Athera’s CVDefine® kit, are associated with a high risk for vein graft failure after bypass surgery.

Biosergen AS appoints Gunilla Ekström as CEO

TRONDHEIM October 11, 2012. Biosergen AS, a Karolinska Development portfolio company, announced today the appointment of Gunilla Ekström as new CEO.

XSpray announces major advance in the formulation of challenging oral Protein Kinase Inhibitors (PKI)

Stockholm, Sweden – October 10, 2012. XSpray, a Karolinska Development portfolio company, announces positive data from dog studies with their novel formulation strategy for PKIs. Plasma levels of nilotinib in dogs increased over 700% with the XSpray formulation when compared with the commercially available product in dogs with neutralized stomachs. In addition, XSpray has demonstrated an improvement in solubility in-vitro with novel formulations of a range of different marketed PKI’s.

Axelar AB appoints Carl Harald Janson as CEO

STOCKHOLM, October 1, 2012. Axelar AB, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, announced today the appointment of Carl Harald Janson as new CEO.

XSpray and Cerbios-Pharma announce partnership on the use of XSpray’s RightSizeTM technology

Stockholm, Sweden – September 4, 2012. XSpray Microparticles AB today announced a partnership with Cerbios-Pharma SA of Lugano, Switzerland for the joint development of HPAI (High Potency Active Ingredients). HPAI development will be provided by XSpray in Stockholm, while the cGMP production for clinical and commercial use will be carried out at Cerbios in Lugano.

Akinion Pharmaceuticals announces the publication of preclinical results of AKN-028

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - August 6, 2012. Akinion Pharmaceuticals AB, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, today announced that the article ”The novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor AKN-028 has significant antileukemic activity in cell lines and primary cultures of acute myeloid leukemia” by Eriksson A. et al., has been published online in Blood Cancer Journal at www.nature.com/bcj.

Investigational Cis-urocanic acid eye drops for dry eye syndrome well tolerated, in Phase 1 clinical study

Laurantis Pharma today announced that it has completed a phase 1 clinical study with its Cis-urocanic acid eye drops. The objective of the study was to investigate the tolerability and safety of the ophthalmic product as well as pharmacokinetics after single and repeated dosing. In total, 37 healthy adult volunteers were recruited in the study.

Lipidor and Cerbios-Pharma have signed an agreement for the co-development of an innovative topical delivery system

Lipidor AB of Stockholm, Sweden, and Cerbios-Pharma SA of Lugano, Switzerland, have signed an agreement to jointly develop dermatological products built on Lipidor’s novel formulation technology - AKVANO(TM). The first application is an API used in the treatment of psoriasis, in order to demonstrate the advantages toward classical formulations like ointments or creams.

Axelar AB has presented Phase I/II data of AXL1717 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting

STOCKHOLM, June 2, 2012. Axelar AB, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, today announced the release of a poster at The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting with data from the Phase I/II trial of AXL1717 that was completed in 2011.

Axelar to present at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago in June 2012

STOCKHOLM, May 15, 2012. Axelar AB, a Karolinska Development portfolio company, today announces that a poster will be presented at the ASCO meeting in Chicago, Illinois, USA in June 2012, containing data from the clinical phase I/II trial in cancer patients that was completed in 2011.

Approved US patent for nano coating for implants

The medical device company Promimic has obtained U.S. patent approval for its nano-thin implant coating HAnano Surface. In addition, the company has shown that the surface enables the implant material PEEK integrate with bone.

NeoDynamics awarded SEK 4 million from Vinnova

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – APRIL 3, 2012. NeoDynamics AB, a Karolinska Development portfolio company, has been awarded 4 million from Vinnova for their program Forska&Väx. The program is aimed at small and medium size companies in all industries that independently, or in collaboration with partners, can demonstrate a strong growth potential by investing in research, development and innovation.

Annexin A5 at low doses prevents atherosclerosis – Study published in Atherosclerosis

Solna, Sweden, March 2nd, 2012 –Treatment with low doses of recombinant Annexin A5 prevents vascular remodelling in a preclinical study. These results were recently published in an article in Atherosclerosis.

Study linking outcome in acute coronary syndromes to anti-PC published in International Journal of Cardiology

Solna, Sweden, February 7th, 2012 – Scientists conclude that measuring antibodies to phosporylcholine (anti-PC), using a simple blood-test, may provide important and independent information on the prognosis of heart attack patients, in a study just published on-line in International Journal of Cardiology. The testing was performed using Athera Biotechnologies CVDefine® kit

Magnus Doverskog appointed as new CEO for Umecrine Cognition

Solna, February 1, 2012. Magnus Doverskog has been appointed as new CEO for Umecrine Cognition AB, one of Karolinska Development AB’s portfolio companies. His most recent position was as CEO for the Biotechnology Company IMED AB in Stockholm.

ProNoxis AB has secured SEK 4.0 million in a new round of financing

Akinion Pharmaceuticals appoints Carl Harald Janson as CEO

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - January 9, 2012. Akinion Pharmaceuticals AB, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, announced today the appointment of Carl Harald Janson as new CEO. Carl Harald Janson, MD, PhD and CEFA, has over 25 years of experience in medicine, pharmaceutical development and asset management.

Aprea strengthens its board

Stockholm, Sweden – December 22, 2011. Aprea AB announces that Peter Buhl Jensen has been elected as a new member of the board. Peter Buhl Jensen is Professor in Clinical Oncology at Copenhagen University, MD, DMSc and former Chief Oncologist at the Department of Oncology, Ålborg Hospital.

Athera Forms New Scientific Advisory Board – Professors Libby, Simoons, Wallentin and de Faire join

Solna, Sweden, November 11th, 2011 – Athera Biotechnologies, part of the Karolinska Development portfolio, announced today that the new Scientific Advisory Board is formed, including professors Peter Libby, Maarten Simoons, Lars Wallentin, and Ulf de Faire.

Oncopeptides AB appoints Jakob Lindberg as CEO

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - October 21, 2011. Oncopeptides AB, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, today announced the appointment of Jakob Lindberg as new CEO. Mr. Lindberg holds a Med. Lic. in Molecular Immunology a MSc in pre-clinical medicine from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and a BA in Finance and Administration from the Stockholm University. He started his career as an analyst with Merrill Lynch in London and moved to consultancy with McKinsey in Stockholm, followed by a period in Gothenburg as CEO and co-founder of Cellectricon AB. For the last six years, Jakob has been Vice President and Venture Partner at Investor Growth Capital in Stockholm.

NeoDynamics innovative cancer treatment featured on US news channel

STOCKHOLM - October 6, 2011. The US news channel ABC 7 recently featured NeoDynamics’ innovative and cost-effective treatment of breast cancer. The concept has been proved simple and reliable and a first clinical study with excellent results has been conducted at Capio St. Görans and Danderyds Hospital in Stockholm where 58 patients have been treated. NeoDynamics is partly owned by Karolinska Development.

Aprea secures funding for further development of the anticancer compound APR-246

Stockholm, Sweden – September 9, 2011. Aprea AB today announced that it has secured SEK 20.4m (EUR 2.1m) which will allow the company to complete its planned continuation of its clinical study with APR-246 in patients with hematologic malignancies. The company also announced that Torbjörn Bjerke has been elected as a new member of the board.

Athera receives allowance of key patent for CVD antibody therapy

Solna, Sweden, August 23th, 2011 – Athera Biotechnologies, part of the Karolinska Development portfolio, announced today that the US Patent Office intends to grant a key patent related to the Company's intellectual property covering its therapeutic antibody candidate PC-mAb. Following subsequent grant, the patent will provide strong protection for pharmaceutical uses of PC-mAb for the treatment of atherosclerosis and prevention of ischemic cardiovascular diseases. The corresponding European and Australian patents have already been granted and further applications are pending worldwide.

Torbjörn Bjerke appointed Chairman of Pergamum AB

Torbjörn Bjerke, Chief Executive Officer, Karolinska Development AB (publ), was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors following the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in Pergamum AB on June 22, 2011.

Karolinska Development portfolio overview 2011

STOCKHOLM - July 1, 2011. Today, Karolinska Development has published the 2011 portfolio overview. The document can be downloaded from www.karolinskadevelopment.com.

ProNoxis AB raises SEK 4 million in directed new share issue

June 17, 2011 with operations proceeding as planned, ProNoxis AB has secured SEK 4 million in a new round of financing. Signalling confidence in ProNoxis development to date, lead investor LU Bioscience invested SEK 2.5 million and Karolinska Development SEK 1.5 million. They now hold 29.7 and 17.6 percent of ProNoxis, respectively. Redoxis AB holds the remaining 52.7 percent. At the end of last year, ProNoxis strengthened the board of directors with the appointments of Tomas Leanderson and Ulf Björkman, who both have extensive industry experience.

Study mapping genetic and environmental links of anti-PC published in Atherosclerosis

Solna, Sweden, 30 May 2011 – Scientists suggest an independent role of anti-PC as a biomarker in cardiovascular disease in a study just published on-line in Atherosclerosis. The testing was performed using Athera Biotechnologies CVDefine® kit.

Corrado Sablone joins Pergamum AB as Chief Financial Officer

Stockholm, May 30, 2011. Pergamum, a Swedish biotechnology company with focus on the development of new treatments for wounds and skin infections, today announced the hire of Corrado Sablone as Chief Financial Officer. Mr Sablone joins Pergamum from Coca Cola Enterprises Sverige AB, where he has been the Commercial Controlling Manager since 2006. Prior to Coca Cola, Corrado Sablone has served as business controller in several companies, including public international corporations such as Tetra Pak and Tradimus.

Dilafor transfers the rights for sevuparin to Dilaforette

STOCKHOLM - May 17, 2011. Dilafor AB announces transfer of the rights for sevuparin, to Dilaforette AB. Sevuparin is being developed for the treatment of severe malaria and has successfully completed a clinical Phase I study. Karolinska Development is the majority owner of Dilafor with 54 percent of the company. Dilaforette is fully owned by Dilafor.

Lena Wikingsson new CEO of Dilafor

STOCKHOLM, May 16, 2011. Lena Wikingsson has been appointed CEO of Dilafor AB. She has several years of experience from pharmaceutical development in leading positions within the pharmaceutical industry. She has, among others, been assessor of biotechnology products at the Swedish Medical Products Agency and CEO of Independent Pharmaceutica.

Pergamum appoints Jan Nilsson as Chief Marketing Officer

Stockholm, May 13, 2011. Pergamum has appointed Jan Nilsson as Chief Marketing Officer and as Managing Director of the LL-37 program – Pergamum’s program for wound healing in chronic leg ulcers. Jan Nilsson has previously held a number of executive leadership positions within international life science companies. Also, he has worked as an executive consultant and advisor for a number of smaller biotechs.

Athera to present at AngloNordic Biotech Conference in London

Athera presents at the first International Pharmacy Engineering and Biotechnology Forum in St. Petersburg

NeoDynamics’ innovative cancer treatment featured in Swedish science television program ”Vetenskapens Värld”

In ”Vetenskapens Värld” April 4, 2011, there was a NeoDynamics feature showing its innovative and cost-effective treatment of breast cancer. The concept has been proven simple and reliable in in-vitro tests, and a first clinical study with excellent results has been conducted at Capio St. Görans and Danderyds Hospital in Stockholm. As of today, around 50 patients have been treated.

Promimic named as one of Sweden's hottest technology companies

Stockholm - Sweden – March 31, 2011, Promimic, 25 percent owned by Karolinska Development, has been chosen by the papers Affärsvärlden och Ny Teknik as one of Sweden's 33 Hottest Young technology companies for 2011. Promimic has been chosen for the company's nano-thin synthetic bone surface, which is considered to be unique and to have a large international market potential.

Axelar’s AXL1717 to be presented at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) 102nd Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida

Stockholm - Sweden – March 29, 2011. Axelar AB today announced that study results from the Phase I study evaluating AXL1717 for the treatment of squamous cell lung carcinoma will be presented at the American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting being held in Orlando, Florida. Axelar is part of the Karolinska Development portfolio of companies.

Emerging Biotech Company Athera and Lonza Sign Development and Manufacturing Agreement

FDA approval for surface based on synthetic bone

Gothenburg 10th February 2011 The biomaterial company Promimic has received 510(k) clearance for the implant surface HANANO™ Surface. The approval allows the company to market and sell the surface in the United States within the field of dental implants.

XSpray receives innovation grant for nanoparticle technology

Stockholm - Sweden – December 06, 2010. XSpray Microparticles announced today that it has received a grant of SEK 2.3 million from Vinnova, the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems. The grant will be used to expand the company’s RightSize™ nanoparticle technology for the development of innovative pharmaceutical formulations.

Akinion Pharmaceuticals AB has presented the New Anticancer Agent AKN-028 at The American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, USA

Oncopeptides AB has presented the New Anticancer Agent J1 at The American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, USA

Aprea to Present Preclinical Data about APR-246 at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, in Orlando, USA

Stockholm - Sweden – November 8, 2010. Aprea AB today announced that encouraging data from its preclinical studies with APR-246 will be presented in a poster session at the upcoming 52nd ASH (American Society of Hematology) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, FL, USA, December 4-7, 2010.

XSpray strengthens patent portfolio for breakthrough particle production technology

Stockholm, Sweden – November 04, 2010. XSpray Microparticles today announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted a patent relating to the company’s particle production technology. XSpray’s RightSize™ Particle technology provides complete control over particle production, enhancing drug formulation options and optimizing the performance of challenging drug substances, such as poorly soluble compounds, inhaled compounds, and biomolecules.

Bengt Å Johansson takes role as acting CEO of Dilafor. Anders Åsell is elected board member of Dilafor.

STOCKHOLM, October 25, 2010. Dilafor CEO Anders Åsell has decided to leave the company to assume the role as General Manager for Grifols in the Nordic countries. Bengt Å Johansson, chairman of Dilafor, takes on the role as acting CEO of Dilafor during the search for a replacement. Anders Åsell has been elected as new Dilafor board member.

Gunilla Lundmark appointed as new CEO for Dilanest

STOCKHOLM, October 25 2010. Gunilla Lundmark has been appointed new CEO for Dilanest AB, a Karolinska Development portfolio company. She is currently Vice President at Q-Med, and will assume the position in January, 2011. Gunilla succeeds Anders Åsell who has decided to leave the company to assume the role as General Manager for Grifols in the Nordic countries.

Ulf Björklund new CEO at Aprea

STOCKHOLM - Sweden – September 30, 2010. Ulf Björklund has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aprea. Ulf Björklund is today the CEO of OxyPharma. He will take up the position in October; the previous CEO Thomas Uhlin has in September left Aprea to join the Swedish Medical Products Agency. Ulf Björklund has a long extensive experience from the pharmaceutical industry, including small start up companies and big pharma. Prior to joining OxyPharma 2002 Ulf spent more then 15 years with Pharmacia. Aprea is now in the end of a Phase I study with their candidate drug APR-246 and is planning to start a Phase II study during the fall 2011.

First clinical study started with BAN2401, a novel antibody targeting the neurotoxin believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease

STOCKHOLM - Sweden and Tokyo, Japan, September 2nd, 2010. Swedish biopharmaceutical company BioArctic Neuroscience AB (Headquarters: Stockholm, CEO: Dr. Pär Gellerfors) and Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President & CEO: Hauro Naito), announce today the start of the first clinical study with BAN2401 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. BAN2401 is an antibody that targets the toxic amyloid aggregates believed to cause degeneration of brain cells leading to Alzheimer’s disease. The new treatment approach is expected to halt progression of the disease

Athera signs distribution agreement in Scandinavia

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – August 27, 2010. Athera Biotechnologies and Electra-Box Diagnostica, announced today that they have signed an agreement for distribution of ”CVDefine” kit. CVDefine measures a new biomarker in blood, a specific anti-body, that has been linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Athera Biotechnologies is part of the Karolinska Development portfolio