Karolinska Development company Modus Therapeutics raises SEK 32 million to support development of se

Karolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) announces its portfolio company Modus Therapeutics AB, a company focused on innovative treatments for patients with sickle cell disease, has successfully completed a financing round raising SEK 32 million (USD 3.6 million) from existing investors KDev Investments, Östersjöstiftelsen and Praktikerinvest.

Details from the Modus Therapeutics press release follow:

Modus Therapeutics is currently recruiting patients in Europe, the Middle East and Caribbean in an ongoing Phase II clinical study with sevuparin for sickle cell disease (SCD). In the second half of 2016, the size of the study was increased to a total of 120 evaluable VOC resolutions. In addition, after a planned safety review in November, the study was allowed to enroll adolescents between the age of 12 and 18. Top-line data from this Phase II study is expected in H1 2018.

Christina Herder, CEO of Modus Therapeutics, said: "SCD is a painful, inherited blood disorder affecting millions of people around the globe. With this continuing support from our long-term investors, Modus has secured the financial resources needed to complete the ongoing Phase II study."

Viktor Drvota, Chief Investment Officer at Karolinska Development, said: "This is a positive development for Modus Therapeutics. This financing achieves a key objective for Karolinska Development to ensure its portfolio companies have sufficient funding to reach value-creating development milestones."

TO THE EDITORS

About Modus Therapeutics
Modus Therapeutics is a clinical-stage drug development company developing new pharmaceutical therapies to restore impaired blood flow and oxygen transport in rare diseases with large unmet medical need. The Company's most advanced candidate, sevuparin, is currently being evaluated in a Phase II clinical trial in sickle cell disease (SCD). Repeated painful crises in SCD, so called vaso-occlusive crises ("VOC"), leads to loss of vital organ function and often significantly reduced life span. Modus Therapeutics is based in Stockholm. The Company's major shareholders are KDev Investments AB (an investment fund jointly owned by Karolinska Development AB and Rosetta Capital), Östersjöstiftelsen (The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies), and Praktikerinvest PE AB.

TO THE EDITORS

About Karolinska Development AB
Karolinska Development AB is an investment company focused on identifying medical innovation and investing in the creation and growth of companies developing these assets into differentiated products that will make a difference to patients' lives and provide an attractive return on investment.

Karolinska Development has access to world-class medical innovations at the Karolinska Institutet and other leading universities and research institutes in the Nordic region. The Company aims to build companies around scientists who are leaders in their fields, supported by experienced management teams and advisers, and co-funded by specialist international investors, to provide the greatest chance of success.

Karolinska Development has established a portfolio of nine companies targeting opportunities in innovative treatment for life-threatening or serious debilitating diseases.

The Company is led by a team including investment professionals with strong venture capital backgrounds, experienced company builders and entrepreneurs, with access to a strong global network.