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Mon, February 7, 2011
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ProMetic Achieves Pivotal Milestone for Its Plasma-Derived Therapeutics Business


Published on 2011-02-07 03:40:26 - Market Wire
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MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Feb. 7, 2011) -ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX:PLI) ("ProMetic") announced today that the Company has achieved a pivotal milestone for the in-house manufacturing of plasma-derived proteins at commercial scale thereby expanding its reach into the lucrative plasma-derived therapeutics industry.

ProMetic, via its new subsidiary, NewCo, has entered into a long-term lease on very favorable conditions with Quebec's Institut national de la recherche scientifique ("INRS") for an existing state-of-the-art facility.

NewCo will undertake the development and manufacturing of high-value plasma-derived therapeutic biosimilars for ProMetic's current and future clients. This facility, located in Laval's biotech cluster, will have a targeted processing capacity of 150,000 liters which would supply products with a market value exceeding $100,000,000 CDN per annum.

NewCo will be funded via third-party investments and is anticipated NewCo will rapidly become self-sustaining through end product services and sales to ProMetic's existing clients. An initial $750,000 CDN investment has been received as part of a $2,500,000 CDN commitment.

This new business venture has also received pledges for additional funding from various institutions and key stakeholders involved in ProMetic's protein technologies activities which could amount to additional financial contributions of $3,500,000 CDN.

"This is a key development for ProMetic as it enables the Company to benefit, at commercial scale, from the competitive advantage provided by our proven Plasma Protein Purification System ("PPPS™") as well as our prion capture technologies. Our clients will have access to ProMetic's in-house production of plasma-derived products, in addition to technology transfer and skills training services," said Mr. Pierre Laurin, ProMetic's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Bruce Pritchard, ProMetic's Chief Financial Officer stated: "We are very pleased to have accessed such a high quality facility on such very favorable terms, as well as having attracted capital to catalyze this exciting venture. The manufacturing plant will supply plasma-derived therapeutic products to our existing and future clients which should generate significant revenue". Mr. Pritchard added: "The plant is expected to start up operations by the end of 2011, provide cGMP products to be used by clients in early 2012, and reach full operating capacity by 2014".

ProMetic will further reduce its overhead cost by relocating its headquarters at this new facility, at the end of March, 2011. This also allows ProMetic to concentrate its core activities near its existing Therapeutic division's research and development site.

Conference Call

ProMetic will be holding a conference call / webcast on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, at 14:00 (EDT) to discuss details regarding this announcement.

The numbers to access the conference call are (416) 981-9000 (international) and 1 (800) 925-4216 (North America toll free). A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available through ProMetic's website at [ http://www.prometic.com/en/news-events/events.php ].

An audio replay of the call will be available for a period of seven days as of Tuesday, February 8, 2011, at 17:00 (EDT). The numbers to access the audio replay are (416) 626-4100 and 1 (800) 558-5253 using access code 21510428. The replay of the web cast may be downloaded directly from ProMetic's web site.

About the Plasma Protein Purification System

The Plasma Protein Purification System ("PPPS™") allows for the targeting and removal of multiple high-value proteins from a single plasma sample at unprecedented activity levels using ProMetic's Mimetic Ligand™ adsorbent technology. This system also provides for the recovery of new biotherapeutics as they are discovered and identified. The effect of this process is to reduce the significant losses incurred when using the more conventional Cohn precipitation process.

About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. ([ www.prometic.com ]) is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of a variety of commercial applications derived from its proprietary Mimetic Ligand™ technology. This technology is used in large-scale purification of biologics and the elimination of pathogens. ProMetic is also active in therapeutic drug development with the mission to bring to market effective, innovative, lower cost, less toxic products for the treatment of hematology and cancer. Its drug discovery platform is focused on replacing complex, expensive proteins with synthetic "drug-like" protein mimetics. Headquartered in Montréal (Canada), ProMetic has R&D facilities in the UK, the U.S. and Canada, manufacturing facilities in the UK and business development activities in the U.S., Europe, Asia and in the Middle-East.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about ProMetic's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are "forward-looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, ProMetic's ability to develop, manufacture, and successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of ProMetic to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current expectations on page 24 of ProMetic's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2009, under the heading "Risk Factors". As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless stated otherwise.