International breakthrough for new transplantation technique

International breakthrough for new transplantation technique

A lung transplantation has for the first time been carried out using the STEEN
Solution™ technology outside Sweden. Earlier on in the development and the first
clinical use eight transplantations have been carried out using STEEN Solution™
at the University Hospital of Lund, where the technology was developed under the
leadership of Professor Stig Steen. The method has now for the first time been
used clinically somewhere else. “This is a breakthrough for the STEEN Solution™
technology, which shows that it is a practically useful clinical method that can
be spread to the lung transplantation clinics of the world, thus benefiting
those patients awaiting a lung transplantation, as the method has the potential
to increase the number of organs available for transplantation,” says Magnus
Nilsson, Vitrolife's CEO.

The transplantation was carried out in one of the large EU countries and within
the region there are a further number of clinics in the starting blocks. The
country and the place where the transplantation in question was carried out are
confidential for the time being, out of consideration for the patient and
relatives. Lung transplantations are high-risk operations, but the patient is
reported to be doing well under the circumstances.

Vitrolife's product STEEN Solution™ is part of a new method for functional
testing and preservation of lungs outside the body. The technology makes it
possible for the first time to test the function of donated lungs outside the
body by pumping STEEN Solution™ into the organ's system of vessels before
possible use.

With the STEEN Solution™ method, the number of potential organs that can be
transplanted increases considerably. In the USA, for example, less than 20
percent of the lungs donated are transplanted today, due to uncertainty about
the function of the organ. In time the STEEN Solution™ method can lead to a
fivefold to tenfold increase in the number of lung transplantations carried out,
as the need for donated organs using today's methods considerably exceeds
supply. 

Vitrolife is today the market leader within the area of lung preservation
solutions with its product Perfadex® and more than 90 percent of all lung
transplantations in the world are performed using this product. Together with
STEEN Solution™, Perfadex® is also part of the new method for functional testing
and preservation of lungs outside the body. 

STEEN Solution™ has already been approved for sales in Europe and Australia. The
patent has so far been approved in Australia and the USA. At the beginning of
September Vitrolife announced that approval had been received from the Canadian
authorities to start a study with STEEN Solution™. The study, which has been
designed in consultation with the American FDA, is planned for quarters three to
four of 2008 and will be the key element in the application for sales approval
in USA and Canada.


September 9, 2008
Kungsbacka, Sweden 

Magnus Nilsson
CEO

Queries should be addressed to: 
Magnus Nilsson, CEO, phone +46 31 721 80 00 or +46 708 22 80 61.
Anna Ahlberg, CFO, phone +46 31 721 80 13 or +46 708 22 80 13.


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Vitrolife is a global biotechnology/medical device Group that works with
developing, manufacturing and selling advanced products and systems for the
preparation, cultivation and storage of human cells, tissue and organs. The
company has business activities within three product areas: Fertility,
Transplantation and Stem Cell Cultivation. The Fertility product area works with
nutrient solutions (media) and advanced consumable instruments such as needles
and pipettes, for the treatment of human infertility. The Transplantation
product area works with solutions and systems to maintain tissue in optimal
condition outside the body for the required time while waiting for
transplantation. The Stem Cell Cultivation product area works with media and
instruments to enable the use and handling of stem cells for therapeutic
purposes. 
     Vitrolife today has approximately 140 employees and the company's products
are sold in more than 80 markets. The head office is in Kungsbacka, Sweden, and
there are subsidiaries in Sweden, USA, Australia and Italy. The Vitrolife share
is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm's Nordic Small Cap list.
________________________________________________________________________________
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Vitrolife AB (publ), Faktorvägen 13, SE-434 37 Kungsbacka, Sweden. Corporate
identity number 556354-3452.
Tel: +46 31 721 80 00. Fax: +46 31 721 80 90. E-mail: info@vitrolife.com.
Homepage: www.vitrolife.com.

This is a translation of the Swedish version of the press release. When in
doubt, the Swedish wording prevails.