Investor Growth Capital and Skandia Investment acquire Swedish Orphan International AB

Investor Growth Capital and Skandia Investment acquire
Swedish Orphan International AB

A consortium comprising Investor Growth Capital (IGC), Skandia
Investment (SI) and the CEO of Swedish Orphan International AB (SOI)
have signed an agreement with the owners of SOI to acquire the company.

Swedish Orphan International was founded in1988 by Lars-Uno Larsson with
the business concept to develop, register, market and distribute orphan
drugs, which are pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of rare
disorders.

SOI has collaborative agreements with more than 25 different
pharmaceutical companies, associations and academic institutions. The
company currently has more than 40 different orphan drugs available in
its markets in Northern Europe, where Scandinavia comprises SOI's base.

SOI has also developed proprietary orphan products. The main product
today is Orfadin® , a drug used in the treatment of a life-threatening
liver disease. The product is sold through SOI's organization but also
through partners in the rest of Europe and North America.

During the past five years, SOI has achieved very profitable growth.
Sales in the split fiscal year May-April 2002/2003 amounted to SEK 274
million and operating income totaled SEK 24 million.

Investor Growth Capital and Skandia Investment consider SOI to be a
unique investment with an attractive combination of licensed and
proprietary products with good potential for continuing profitable
growth. SOI has built up a strong market position in its field over a
long period and enjoys solid relations with its partners. The company
commits itself to its patient groups, which is reflected in a strong
brand and a number of international awards.

"In its product areas, SOI has established a strong position in the
Nordic market by focusing on orphan drugs. The company's competence is
unique, and together with its strong financial position, there will be
major opportunities for licensing additional products and acquiring
projects in late clinical phases," says Thomas Eklund, Managing
Director, Investor Growth Capital AB.

"SOI has clearly demonstrated an ability to grow profitably, which makes
the company an attractive candidate for an initial public offering in a
long-term perspective. IGC's knowledge of the industry, complemented
with SI's competence in preparing companies for IPOs, plus the CEO's
continuing ownership and commitment to SOI, constitute a good ownership
combination," says Christer Dahlström, CEO, Skandia Investment.

"The combination of Investor Growth Capital and Skandia Investment as
future owners is very attractive to SOI, which gains owners with
considerable capital who can provide substantial resources to secure
SOI's continuing expansion. This can be accomplished by purchasing
products, increasing investments in our own product development and
acquiring companies," says Bo Jesper Hansen, CEO, Swedish Orphan
International.

"We are proud to have found a group of owners who not only share the
company's fundamental values but also possess substantial competence and
resources to create a new dimension for future pioneering initiatives in
the pharmaceutical area on a global basis," says Lars-Uno Larsson,
founder of Swedish Orphan International.

Kaupthing Bank (Sweden) was adviser to the buyers.

For questions and further information, contact:

Thomas Eklund, Managing Director, Investor Growth Capital AB
+46 8 614 18 25, eller +46 708 24 20 25
thomas.eklund@investorab.com

Christer Dahlström, CEO, Skandia Investment
+46 8 459 67 61, eller +46 708 24 71 09
christer.dahlstrom@priveq.se

Mattias Larsson, Communications Manager, Swedish Orphan International AB
+46 8 412 98 00, eller +46 709 180 135
mattias.larsson@swedishorphan.com

Investor Growth Capital is a venture capital and private equity advisory
group wholly owned by Investor AB, the largest industrial holding
company in the Nordic region. Investor Growth Capital focuses on
investments in growth companies in the IT and healthcare sectors in
Europe, North America and Asia. For more information, go to:
www.investorgrowthcapital.com

Skandia Investment is a Swedish venture capital company established in
1983. During the past 20 years, the company has made approximately 100
investments, primarily in growth companies that intend to seek a listing
on the stock exchange. Of these investments, 23 have been listed, such
as Gibeck, Nefab, Segerström & Svensson and HL Display. In addition to
Skandia, investors in Skandia Investment include Sweden's Fourth
National Pension Fund, Handelsbanken Liv, ICA and Orkla. Priveq Partners
is investment adviser to Skandia Investment. For further information, go
to: www.skandiainvestment.se.