Orion and University of Wisconsin-Madison will start strategic collaboration

The Wisconsin Technology Innovation Initiative (Wi2), a non-profit organization formed to support the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,  and Orion Corporation, a Finnish pharmaceutical and diagnostics company, have announced a strategic collaboration in pursuit of new medicines for oncological diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, target proteins (modes of action) identified and initially validated at UW-Madison will be provided to Orion as a first step in establishing a research and development collaboration. The parties will jointly participate in planning and conducting research and development projects according to predefined roles and responsibilities. Both parties will cover their own costs throughout the collaboration. The agreement states that all future income related to individual joint projects of the collaboration parties shall be shared between the parties in proportion to their respective share of development investments.

"We are excited about partnering with Wi2 and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is recognized for its scientific excellence in the field of oncology. The university is performing fundamental research and also has excellent capabilities for Phase IIA clinical studies. These competence areas added to our expertise to develop a molecule to medicine are offering us a great opportunity to find, research and develop new treatments for patients suffering from oncological diseases", says Reijo Salonen, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Orion Corporation.

"Wi2 is eager to be the bridge that makes this collaboration possible," says Richard L. Moss PhD, Chief Scientific Officer for Wi2. "Collaborating with a global partner such as Orion is an important step in making sure that valuable discoveries made at UW-Madison can be developed into potentially life-saving drugs."

Wi2 is a non-profit organization committed to cultivating and supporting innovation. It supports the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a global leader in life science research and technology development. In collaboration with Orion, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's core competence areas are target discovery and validation, biological testing and conducting clinical Phase IIA studies.

Orion's oncology therapy area has been growing remarkably and the company has three promising development projects ongoing in the field of oncology. Orion has a proven track record in developing new innovative treatments from molecule to man, and therefore, collaboration with UW-Madison will improve the opportunities to find and invent new innovative treatments in the field of oncology.

About the Wisconsin Technology Innovation Initiative (Wi2) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Wisconsin Technology Innovation Initiative, Inc. (Wi2) is a private, non-profit corporation committed to cultivating and supporting innovation by investigators in the UW School of medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Wi2 supports the mission of the school and the university by developing innovative therapeutics to improve health by alleviating disease, by enhancing the ability of the university to educate students in the process of medical product development, by providing increased opportunities for faculty, staff and trainees to develop and use their skills in product development, and by supporting the transition into the marketplace of useful technologices developed at the university as well as private companies and other research institutions.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's highly diverse concentration of bioscience expertise makes it a world leader in biotechnology, life science and medical research.  Among United States public universities, UW-Madison ranks 6^th in research expenditures (2016), and 7^th among U.S. universities for patents issued annually.  Its distinctive history includes the first bone marrow transpant, the creation of the first synthetic gene, and the first cultivation of embryonic stem cells in a laboratory setting.

About Orion

Orion is a globally operating Finnish company developing pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tests - a builder of well-being. Orion develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients and diagnostic tests. The company is continuously developing new drugs and treatment methods. The core therapy areas of Orion's pharmaceutical R&D are central nervous system (CNS) disorders, oncology and respiratory for which Orion develops inhaled Easyhaler® pulmonary drugs. Orion's net sales in 2015 amounted to EUR 1,016 million and the Company had about 3,400 employees. Orion's A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

http://www.orion.fi/en
Twitter: @OrionPharma & @OrionCorpIR

Further information:
Reijo Salonen, SVP, Pharmaceutical Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer
Orion Corporation
Phone +358 50 966 3647