The Winner of the 2007 EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD is the Renovo Group from the United Kingdom

HANNOVER, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Renovo Group Plc from Manchester has good reason to celebrate. This evening the British manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals was awarded first prize in the 2007 EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD at the official opening ceremony for BIOTECHNICA in Hannover. In second place was the biotech company Genmab A/S from Copenhagen. And third place went to another Danish company, Bavarian Nordic A/S, which manufactures biopharmaceutical products in Kvistgaard. Christian Wulff, the Premier of Lower Saxony, Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Board of Merck KGaA, Christian Siebert, departmental head at the European Commission, and Stephan Ph. Kühne, who sits on the Board of Management at Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover, presented the prizes in the presence of more than 500 invited persons from the worlds of science, business and politics.

This was the fifth successive year in which Deutsche Messe has awarded the prize – now worth a total of 100,000 euros – to European companies working in biotechnology and the life sciences which have developed particularly innovative products, services and associated business ideas. “We noted this year an increase in the number of competition entrants, particularly from countries outside Germany. This is a clear indicator of the growing importance of the biotechnology industry as a driver of economic growth,” says Stephan Kühne.

The international jury, made up of distinguished biotech experts from six countries, selected the three winners from a list of 27 applicants. The criteria for the award were market viability, market relevance, market presence of products and services, and a promising marketing concept.

First prize goes to Renovo Group Plc from the United Kingdom

Renovo researches and develops biopharmaceutical products for the preventive treatment and reduction of scarring. “The winner Renovo impressed the jury with its high scientific standards, its pioneering products in a very important area of application that has hitherto suffered from low standards of treatment, its strong financial situation and its genuine entrepreneurial spirit,” comments Professor Dr. Peter J. W. Stadler in his capacity as jury chairman.

Renovo receives 20,000 euros in cash. In addition the company will receive substantive benefits in the form of an exhibition stand at BIOTECH CHINA 2008 in Shanghai (28 to 30 May), an IPO welcome pack from the German Stock Exchange, a media package in the “European Biotechnology News” and a year’s membership of the European umbrella association for the biotechnology industry, EuropaBio, in Brussels.

Genmab A/S and Bavarian Nordic A/S in second and third place respectively

The second-placed contender Genmab from Denmark develops human antibodies for the treatment of life-threatening and debilitating diseases. “Genmab is remarkable for its outstanding technological base, which has been used to build up a very strong portfolio of development products, as well as for its extraordinary ability to transmute all this into financial success for the company,” observes Stadler.

Third place went to the Danish company Bavarian Nordic A/S. This company develops and manufactures innovative vaccines for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. “Bavarian commended itself to the jury by its presentation of an impressive raft of vaccines currently under development, a clear focus on applications and a strong financial basis,” explains Stadler.

The main prizes for the second-placed and third-placed companies respectively consist of a ten-day and five-day consultancy course with consultants Capgemini, with the focus on business strategy and investment. In addition, both companies will each receive a media package in the “European Biotechnology News” and a year’s membership of the European umbrella association for the biotechnology industry, EuropaBio, in Brussels.

The presentation of the fifth EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD marks the formal opening of BIOTECHNICA 2007, which takes place from 9 to 11 October 2007 at the Hannover Exhibition Grounds. 863 exhibitors from 32 nations will be presenting their latest products and developments from right across the biotechnology spectrum.

Information about previous prize-winners and the terms of entry for the next competition can be found online at www.biotechnica-award.de.

Additional press releases and photos can be found at www.biotechnica.de/pressservice.

EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD 2007

5^th International Prize for European companies working in biotechnology and the life sciences

The following competition entrants were presented with the 2007 EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD on Monday 8 October 2007 in Hannover.

Bavarian Nordic A/S, Bøgeskovvej 9, 3490 Kvistgaard, Denmark

Bavarian Nordic is a leading international biopharmaceutical company developing and producing innovative vaccines to prevent and treat infectious diseases and cancer. With operations in Denmark, Germany, the USA, and Singapore, Bavarian Nordic employs over 230 people.

Bavarian Nordic’s patented technology, MVA-BN®, is, as has been demonstrated in clinical studies, one of the world’s safest, multivalent vaccine vectors for the development of vaccines against various infectious diseases such as smallpox, HIV/AIDS, as well as against breast and prostate cancer. Several MVA-BN®-based HIV and smallpox vaccines are in clinical Phase I and Phase II trials.

Bavarian Nordic has supplied several governments with smallpox vaccines and, with its increased production capacity, is able to supply the growing demand, particularly for safe smallpox vaccines. With a global manufacturing capacity consisting of its new state-of-the-art production facility in Denmark (minimum capacity of 40 million doses per year that can be expanded to 180 million doses per year), and an ongoing partnership with the German vaccine producer, Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau (IDT), Bavarian Nordic has ensured supply of its current and future vaccines.

http://www.bavarian-nordic.com

Genmab A/S, Toldbodgade 33, 1253 Copenhagen, Denmark

Genmab A/S is an international biotechnology company that is developing fully human antibodies to treat life-threatening and debilitating diseases. The company uses the most advanced technology available to develop antibodies in an effort to make products designed to help patients who are suffering from diseases for which treatment does not work, or does not exist. Genmab has developed a broad pipeline of 38 potential antibody products in a variety of disease areas, including 6 in clinical development and 18 in pre-clinical development.

The internal pre-clinical development team selects the best antibody candidates and the clinical development team moves these candidates through clinical studies as rapidly and efficiently as possible. In addition, Genmab in-licenses potential targets from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to further expand its product pipeline. Genmab chooses to develop some of its products in-house through late-stage development, while out-licensing some other products to other companies. This strategy serves both to balance risk and facilitate the pursuit of further development opportunities. The combination of streamlined development teams, cutting-edge technology, international clinical and regulatory expertise, diversified product pipeline and solid financial and managerial foundation has given Genmab a tremendous edge over its competitors and has helped establish the company as a leader in the biotechnology industry.

http://www.genmab.com

Renovo Group Plc., Grafton Street 48, M13 9XX Manchester, United Kingdom

Renovo is a biopharmaceutical product company and is the world leader in scar prevention and reduction research and the development of drugs to prevent and reduce scarring. The Company has a highly skilled management team with over 30 years of research experience in the field of scarring and significant pharmaceutical industry expertise. Scarring can result from acute injury in, or surgery to, the skin, blood vessels, eyes, nerves, internal organs, tendons and ligaments. These are high value markets of significant unmet medical need.

Renovo has a portfolio of drugs which exploit different novel mechanisms of action to prevent and reduce scarring at multiple body sites and to accelerate healing. This deep pipeline includes one drug that has recently initiated Phase III clinical development in December 2006; three drugs in Phase II clinical development; a further four advanced pre-clinical candidates; and 15 other pre-clinical candidates.

Renovo’s research and development approach is to focus on the drug development stage and to direct activities towards gaining early indications of efficacy in humans. A deep understanding of the mechanisms of scarring has enabled Renovo to select a range of candidates and programmes based on different mechanisms of action which, as they are relatively independent of one another, give robustness to the Group’s pipeline. Renovo’s pipeline derives both from in-house research and from external collaborations with selected academic groups worldwide.

Renovo aims to be first to the market with a pharmaceutical drug in the US and Europe to prevent and reduce scarring. Current demand is inadequately met and there is no near term competition. According to external research, the potential commercial market for prevention and reduction of scarring in the skin is worth $4 billion per annum in the US alone.

http://www.renovo.com

The jury:

• Professor Dr. Peter J. W. Stadler, CEO, ARTEMIS Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Cologne, Germany (Chairman)
• Dr. Luca Benatti, founder and CEO, Newron Pharmaceuticals SPA, Bresso, Italy
• Professor Dr. Horst Domdey, Chairman of the Board at BioM, Martinsried, Germany
• Professor Dr. Oreste Ghisalba, Novartis Pharma AG, Basle, Switzerland
• Michel Gréco, expert on vaccines and former president of Aventis Pasteur SA, Paris, France
• Dr. Karsten Henco, founder of Qiagen and Evotec, as well as CEO of U3 Pharma AG, Martinsried, Munich, Germany
• Professor. Dr. Karl Kuchler, Head of the Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Vienna University, Austria
• Dr. Philippe Pouletty, founder and CEO of Truffle Venture, as well as President of France Biotech, Paris, France
• Professor Dr. Rolf G. Werner, Managing Director Biopharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Biberach, Germany
• Professor Dr. Roland Wolf, Director of Science CXR Biosciences as well as head of the Biomedical Research Centre, University of Dundee, United Kingdom