STEEN Solution™ approved for sales in Australia

STEEN Solution™ approved for sales in Australia

Vitrolife has obtained sales approval in Australia for STEEN Solution™, a
solution for functional testing and preservation of lungs outside the body
before transplantation. 
“It is a great success for Vitrolife that this unique product has now been
approved by the Australian authorities,” says Magnus Nilsson, CEO of Vitrolife. 


Vitrolife's product STEEN Solution™ is part of a new method for functional
testing and preservation of lungs outside the body. The technology makes it
possible for the first time to test the function of donated lungs outside the
body by pumping STEEN Solution™ into the organ's system of vessels before
possible use.

With the STEEN Solution™ method, the number of potential organs that can be
transplanted increases considerably. In the USA, for example, less than 20
percent of the lungs donated are transplanted today, due to uncertainty about
the function of the organ. In time the STEEN Solution™ method can lead to a
fivefold to tenfold increase in the number of lung transplantations carried out,
as the need for donated organs using today's methods considerably exceeds
supply. So far 8 transplantations have been performed using this method, all at
the University Hospital of Lund.

Vitrolife is today the market leader within the area of lung preservation
solutions with its product Perfadex® and more than 90 percent of all lung
transplantations in the world are performed using this product. Together with
STEEN Solution™, Perfadex® is also part of the new method for functional testing
and preservation of lungs outside the body. 

STEEN Solution™ has already been approved for sales in Europe. The patent has so
far been approved in Australia and the USA. During 2007 work was done to develop
peripheral equipment, such as a box for storage of the lung in order to further
facilitate the method using STEEN Solution™, as well as education and training
of a large number of clinics in Europe and the USA. Work has also been ongoing
on the study in North America which will form the basis of sales approval for
STEEN Solution™ in the USA, a study that it is estimated will begin shortly.



June 18, 2008
Kungsbacka, Sweden 

Magnus Nilsson
CEO



Queries should be addressed to: 
Magnus Nilsson, CEO, phone +46 31 721 80 00 or +46 708 22 80 61.
Anna Ahlberg, CFO, phone +46 31 721 80 13 or +46 708 22 80 13.


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Vitrolife is a global biotechnology/medical device Group that works with
developing, manufacturing and selling advanced products and systems for the
preparation, cultivation and storage of human cells, tissue and organs. The
company has business activities within three product areas: Fertility,
Transplantation and Stem Cell Cultivation. The Fertility product area works with
nutrient solutions (media) and advanced consumable instruments such as needles
and pipettes, for the treatment of human infertility. The Transplantation
product area works with solutions and systems to maintain tissue in optimal
condition outside the body for the required time while waiting for
transplantation. The Stem Cell Cultivation product area works with media and
instruments to enable the use and handling of stem cells for therapeutic
purposes. 
     Vitrolife today has approximately 140 employees and the company's products
are sold in more than 80 markets. The head office is in Kungsbacka, Sweden, and
there are subsidiaries in Sweden, USA, Australia and Italy. The Vitrolife share
is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm's Nordic Small Cap list.
________________________________________________________________________________
_________
Vitrolife AB (publ), Faktorvägen 13, SE-434 37 Kungsbacka, Sweden. Corporate
identity number 556354-3452.
Tel: +46 31 721 80 00. Fax: +46 31 721 80 90. E-mail: info@vitrolife.com.
Homepage: www.vitrolife.com.

This is a translation of the Swedish version of the press release. When in
doubt, the Swedish wording prevails.