Debiopharm International SA Acquires FibroTrap Sample Processing Technology from Spinomix

Lausanne, Switzerland (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Applicable to a wide variety of sample types to isolate bacteria, viruses,
tumor cells, etc.
- FibroTrap improves sensitivity and shortens time taken from sample collection
to results
- Spinomix to focus on the development of its flagship MagPhase technology

Debiopharm International SA (Debiopharm), part of Debiopharm
Group(TM), a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical company, and
Spinomix, a Swiss technology platform company providing innovative
sample processing solutions to the life sciences sector, today
announced the acquisition by Debiopharm of Spinomix' FibroTrap sample
processing technology. Commercial terms of the transaction were not
disclosed.

FibroTrap is a fibrinogen-based technology allowing the highly
specific separation and efficient concentration of target molecules
from liquid samples within a simple, routine sample-collection tube.
This technology greatly simplifies the sample processing workflow,
improves sensitivity and significantly shortens the time taken from
sample collection to delivery of results. FibroTrap is applicable to
a wide variety of matrices (blood, urine, swabs, food, etc.) to
isolate a large spectrum of targets (bacteria, viruses, tumor cells,
etc.) and hence could provide a breakthrough in sample processing
applied to clinical diagnostics and the food industry

"This agreement reflects our long-held strategy to develop our
technologies to a certain maturity before finding the best
commercialization partner," stated Heiner Dreismann, Chairman of the
Board. "We are delighted to have transferred FibroTrap to Debiopharm
who will as of now continue with the development of FibroTrap
technology, take it to market and realize its full potential in many
different applications."

"We are enthusiastic about continuing the development of this
potentially revolutionary sample preparation technology. This
acquisition is in line with our continuing investment in cutting-edge
diagnostic technologies and particularly with our interest in rapid
diagnostics for efficient use of anti-infective agents," added
Thierry Mauvernay, Delegate of the Board of Debiopharm Group.

"The team at Spinomix is very proud to have developed this novel
technology which will greatly improve the sensitivity and time taken
for diagnosing samples by doctors and laboratories. This will
undoubtedly pave the way to a new era in molecular diagnostics in
which patients will benefit enormously from an enhanced process,"
said Nasri Nahas, Chief Executive Officer. "Spinomix is very pleased
to have this technology now under Debiopharm's solid product
development expertise, allowing Spinomix to focus on commercializing
its flagship sample processing technology MagPhase that we continue
to validate in partnership with key players in research and
industry."

About Spinomix SA

Spinomix is a Swiss technology platform company providing
innovative sample processing solutions to the life sciences sector.
Based at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), the
company is building the new gold standard for sample processing of
biochemical substances. Its products capture and extract samples at a
quality and efficiency far superior to current practice, thus
enabling more efficient diagnostics. The company's main focus is on
applications which are critical for treatment decisions in a variety
of human diseases.

Spinomix' products MagPhase(TM) and FibroTrap(TM) improve the
sensitivity and time taken to obtain meaningful results from samples
that are highly heterogeneous and notoriously difficult to analyze
(e.g. blood, urine, swabs and food matrices). The company development
strategy is to conduct validation programmers of these products with
key market players in research and industry with the goal of
developing partnerships for their commercialization.

Further information is available at our website
http://www.spinomix.com

About Debiopharm International SA

Debiopharm Group(TM) is a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical
group of four companies active in drug development, GMP manufacturing
of proprietary drugs, diagnostics, and investments. Debiopharm
International SA is focused on the development of prescription drugs
that target unmet medical needs. The company in-licenses, develops
promising drug candidates. The products are commercialized by
pharmaceutical out-licensing partners to give access to the largest
number of patients worldwide.

For more information, please visit http://www.debiopharm.com

We are on Twitter. Follow us @DebiopharmNews at
http://twitter.com/DebiopharmNews

Debiopharm International SA Contact
Christelle Tur
Communication Coordinator
christelle.tur@debiopharm.com
Tel: +41(0)21-321-01-11

Additional Media Contacts
In London
Maitland
Martin Barrows
mbarrow@maitland.co.uk
Tel: +44(0)20-7395-0444

In New York
Russo Partners, LLC
Marissa Goberdhan
Account Executive
marissa.goberdhan@russopartnersllc.com
Tel: +1(0)212-845-4253

Contact Spinomix SA
Nasri Nahas
CEO
contact@spinomix.com
Tel: +41(0)21-693-92

Media
Nick Miles
Cabinet Prive de Conseils
Geneva, Switzerland
miles@cpc-pr.com
Tel: +41(0)22-321-45-40
Tel: +41(0)79-678-76-26

Edward Agne
Communications Strategy Group
Cambridge, Mass, USA
edagne@comstratgroup.com
Tel: +1(0)781-631-3117
Tel: +1(0)781-888-0099

ots Originaltext: Debiopharm Group
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