BioPorto’s NGAL cut-off patent, EP1831699, which as previously announced was
issued in Europe in November 2010, was provisionally rejected according to the
decision issued by the first instance in the opposition case filed with the
European Patent Office (EPO). 

The details of the grounds for the EPO’s decision were not provided during the
opposition case, but a transcript of the decision is now available from the EPO
and is available in its entirety on the EPO’s website, Epoline. The main
decision of the EPO’s opinion is that there is an insufficient description in
the patent to perform the method as specified in claim 1. Hřiberg, who
represented BioPorto in the proceedings and is also expected to plead
BioPorto’s case in the appeal, is in the process of reviewing the decision, and
BioPorto will publish Hřiberg’s assessment of the present decision as soon as
possible. 

BioPorto will appeal the decision within the four-month deadline stipulated by
the EPO, i.e. not later than September 21, 2012. In accordance with the
arguments previously put forward by BioPorto, the description in the patent is
deemed sufficient for performing the method specified in claim 1. The appeal is
expected to be processed by the EPO in 2014. 



Valid cut-off patents issued in Japan, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong
Kong, South Africa, South Korea, Australia and Israel and cut-off patent
applications pending in the US, Canada and China are not affected by this
decision. Nor does the decision affect BioPorto’s other NGAL IPs, including the
NGAL trauma patent in Europe. 


         For further information, please contact:
         Gry Husby Larsen, Corporate Legal Counsel
         Tel. +45 4529 0000, e-mail investor@bioporto.com