SBI : Notice on Acquisition of Additional Equity Interest in German Biotech Firm Engaged in 5-ALA-Related Drug Business in Europe (to Make it a Subsidiary)

Notice on Acquisition of Additional Equity Interest in German Biotech Firm Engaged in 5-ALA-Related Drug Business in Europe (to Make it a Subsidiary)

January 15, 2016 SBI Holdings, Inc. (Tokyo:8473)

Notice on Acquisition of Additional Equity Interest in German Biotech Firm Engaged in 5-ALA-Related Drug Business in Europe (to Make it a Subsidiary)

SBI Holdings, Inc. ("SBIH") hereby announces that it has acquired all of equity in photonamic GmbH & Co. KG (Head office: Wedel, Germany; "photonamic") from medac GmbH (Head office: Wedel, Germany; "medac"), a German pharmaceutical company, to make photonamic a wholly-owned subsidiary. photonamic is engaged in the development of drugs that use 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) in Europe, Australia, and the United States of America. In 2012, the SBI Group had acquired 20% equity interest in photonamic as part of its strategy for expanding its 5-ALA business overseas.

1. Purpose of acquisition of shares

   
   

   SBIH, regarding the Biotechnology-related Business as the largest growth field of the SBI Group, is accelerating operations of the 5-ALA-related business in Japan and abroad. As part of the efforts to develop a dominating research and development structure for 5-ALA-related drugs, SBIH has taken steps to make photonamic, a firm engaged in research and development of drugs that use 5-ALA primarily in Europe, its wholly-owned subsidiary. photonamic pursues research and development of drugs that use 5-ALA primarily in Europe and the interoperative diagnostic drug Gliolan for brain tumors it developed was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2007. Today, Gliolan is sold in over 25 countries in Europe, including Germany and the U.K., with medac serving as photonamic's sales partner. photonamic also distributes Gliolan through its business partners around the world, including SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., a drug company engaged in 5-ALA businesses under the umbrella of the SBI Group, which has been selling the drug in Japan under the name of "ALAGLIO" since 2013.

   photonamic also developed Alacare, a drug for treating actinic keratosis and has received approval to sell it in Europe as well as recently in Australia. Furthermore, given that photonamic maintains pipelines for the development of interoperative diagnostic drugs for various types of cancer and of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for brain tumors in Europe, synergistic effects with the SBI Group's 5-ALA-related drug business can be expected.

   
   

   The SBI Group will continue to establish a dominating business structure for supplying products that use 5-ALA, with consistent coverage of operations from development and manufacturing to sale.

   
   

2. Outline of photonamic GmbH & Co. KG

   Corporate name	：	photonamic GmbH & Co. KG
   Representative	：	Dr. Ulrich Kosciessa
   Head office	：	Wedel, Germany
   Business	：	Development and sale of diagnostic and therapeutic drugs that use 5-ALA
   Capital	：	51,129,000 euros
   Establishment	：	March 2002

   
   

3. Future prospects

SBIH believes that the impact of this acquisition on its overall business performance is minimal.

***************************************************************************************** For further information, please contact:

SBI Holdings, Inc.: Corporate Communications Dept., Tel: +81 3 6229 0126