AbSorber's transplantation crossmatch test strong predicator for acute rejections - study published in prestigious international medical journal

Press release 
March 2, 2009


AbSorber's transplantation crossmatch test strong predicator for acute
rejections - study published in prestigious international medical journal

AbSorber, a LinkMed portfolio company, got its transplantation crossmatch test
XM-ONE® evaluated in a large clinical study and the results are now published in
the prestigious international medical journal Transplantation. The study shows
that XM-ONE® contributes valuable information that refines the diagnostics for
finding the right organ for the right patient, thereby increasing the
probability of a successful transplantation. Four U.S. and two Swedish
well-reputed hospitals participated in the multicenter trial. 

“The study demonstrates and confirms an increased frequency of rejection
episodes in patients who test positive with XM-ONE, even in cases where
conventional lymphocyte cross-match tests are unsuccessful in detecting
donor-specific antibodies,” said Professor Andrea Zachary at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The test was clinically evaluated in
the study by the centre over a two year period.

“Results show that we now, with XM-ONE, can easily get access to donor cells
that allow detection of non-HLA antibodies. This in turn, improves
donor-recipient pairing and kidney transplantation outcome,” adds Professor
Andrea Zachary.

The publication of the study is an important breakthrough for XM-ONE®. In
August, AbSorber received FDA approval to market and sell the company's patented
transplantation test XM -ONE® in the U.S. The test is also CE-marked and
approved for sales in the EU.

“Publication of the study in the journal Transplantation is extremely important
for us since it provides a scientific knowledge base about and clinical
acceptance of XM-ONE as support when we talk to the transplantation centers. We
are currently launching XM-ONE in the U.S. and the study gives us a strong
foundation to build up on. 46% of the patients that were tested positive with
XM-ONE got an acute rejection within three (3) weeks after transplantation.
Currently the test is introduced to 20 larger transplantation centers in the
U.S. and about the same number of centers in Europe”, says AbSorber CEO, Anders
Karlsson.

Publication of the study in Transplantation is important as the journal is one
of the largest and most influential publications within the transplantation
society worldwide - the publication that everyone in this filed reads.

Six prominent transplantation centers in the U.S. and Sweden participated in the
clinical trial. These are:
• Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore
• Ohio State University in Columbus
• Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston
• Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas 
• Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge.

From June 2005 to October 2006, a total of 195 patients were screened of which
147 patients met the inclusion criteria and were therewith evaluated in the
XM-ONE® clinical trial. Blood samples from the patients were tested using
XM-ONE®. 

XM-ONE® is unique in that it is the first standardized test that can detect
antibodies against the cells that line the inside of blood vessels. These
endothelial cells are the first point of contact between the transplanted organ
and the recipient's immune system. Anti-endothelial cell antibodies have been
shown to play a key role in causing post-transplantation rejections. The study
has awakened great scientific interest and several other transplantation centers
are interested in conducting their own independent trials with XM-ONE®.

“XM-ONE provides key, previously unattainable, information about donor-recipient
compatibility that increases the probability of a successful transplantation.
XM-ONE opens up completely new possibilities for detecting antibodies that we
previously were unable to identify," said associate Professor Jan Holgersson,
doctor and researcher at the Karolinska University Hospital and one of the
founders of AbSorber.

AbSorber develops products that facilitate more successful transplantations.
AbSorber's first product, the transplantation test XM-ONE® detects key
antibodies responsible for post-transplantation rejection reactions. XM-ONE is
already CE marked and FDA approved for sales in the EU and U.S.

LinkMed owns 42 percent of AbSorber.

For more information contact: 
Anders Karlsson, CEO AbSorber, tel. + 46 70 918 00 10 
Ingemar Lagerlöf, CEO LinkMed, tel. +46 8 508 939 93
Jan Holgersson, Karolinska University Hospital, tel. +46 8 585 81384

Also visit www.absorber.se and www.linkmed.se


LinkMed develops life-science companies in collaboration with innovators and
other financiers. By contributing with management competence and capital,
LinkMed has created a portfolio of twelve companies, four in drug development
and biotechnology and eight in diagnostics and medical technology. The company's
principal owners are FastPartner, Koncentra Holding, and the founder Ingemar
Lagerlöf. The LinkMed share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange
Stockholm in the small-cap sector (ticker:LMED).