Karolinska Development Portfolio Company Completes Successful Phase II Clinical Trial

Stockholm (ots/PRNewswire) - Karolinska Development
(publ) today announced that one of its portfolio companies, Dilafor
AB, has concluded an extensive clinical study of its candidate drug,
tafoxiparin, a new drug substance for the prevention of protracted
labor during childbirth. The promising results of the Phase II trial
bring the project closer to exit in line with Karolinska
Development's business strategy.

Dilafor's candidate drug, tafoxiparin DF01 is one of 11 compounds
within the Karolinska Development portfolio that are currently
conducting clinical trials. The completion of the Dilafor study is
an important milestone for Karolinska Development and exemplifies
the company's ability to develop innovative ideas through to
clinical proof of concept quickly and efficiently. In the case of
Dilafor, tafoxiparin has taken just six years to go from research
concept to its current stage.

Karolinska Development's portfolio consists of more than 40 life
science companies. A unique business model, which gives portfolio
companies access to a broad network of business, legal, regulatory
and scientific expertise, means that development times and costs are
reduced compared to traditional drug development programs. With seven
compounds currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials and five in
Phase I the portfolio has matured to the point that Karolinska
Development is now actively seeking commercial partners for its most
advanced projects.

Conny Bogentoft, CEO of Karolinska Development, said, "The
completion of the Dilafor Phase II trial is an important step for
Karolinska Development and we are extremely pleased that Dilafor has
achieved some very positive results. At the same time, it also goes a
long way towards validating our business model. We are now very much
focused on finding commercial opportunities for Dilafor's tafoxiparin
and for several of our other projects that are reaching maturity."

The tafoxiparin Phase II trial was designed to measure the effect
on labor time after preventive treatment using the candidate drug.
263 women at 18 clinics in Sweden were included in a randomized,
double-blind and placebo-controlled study, conducted over a two year
period. The treatment, which was administered during the last phase
of pregnancy, was shown to be safe and well tolerated. In the groups
as a whole the labor time was shorter in the treated group, but did
not reach statistical significance.

However, further analyses of results suggest that treatment with
tafoxiparin provides beneficial effects, including: a statistically
significant (p=0.04) reduction in the number of women with labor
times in excess of twelve hours; fewer complications as a cause of
protracted labor; and fewer caesarean sections as a result of
protracted labor.

Dilafor's CEO, Anders Asell, commented, "By concluding this
proof-of-concept study we have shown that tafoxiparin has the
potential to solve an important unmet medical need. We will now start
actively seeking a collaboration partner with whom we can carry out a
Phase III program. Parallel to this we will continue to develop
tafoxiparin within Dilafor."

About Dilafor AB

Established in 2003, Dilafor AB is a Swedish R&D company focused
on developing pharmaceutical products from heparin derivatives with
low anticoagulant activity. The company has a balanced product
portfolio representing highly promising ideas and innovations. Each
of the projects addresses important and unmet medical needs.

The project, tafoxiparin (DF01) for protracted labor,
successfully concluded a clinicial Phase II study in July 2009. DF02,
a drug candidate for the treatment of severe malaria, is presently in
Phase I clinical development.

Dilafor is managed by senior staff with high academic credentials
and extensive industrial experience gained from key areas of
pharmaceutical development. The company is located at Karolinska
Institutet Science Park and is part of Karolinska Development.

About Karolinska Development AB

Managing one of the largest portfolios of life science research
companies in Europe, Karolinska Development AB is a new type of
company focused on filling the innovation gap within the
pharmaceutical industry. Using a unique, highly cost-effective model
Karolinska Development commercializes internationally renowned life
science innovations, helping to deliver the medical products of the
future.

For more information, contact:
Conny Bogentoft, CEO, Karolinska Development AB
Cell phone +46-70-668-61-43
info@karolinskadevelopment.com

ots Originaltext: Karolinska Development AB PUBL
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For more information, contact: Conny Bogentoft, CEO, Karolinska
Development AB, Cell phone +46-70-668-61-43,
info@karolinskadevelopment.com