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Japan, South Korea, and the African subcontinent are now covered by the Alliance. With the addition of two new WODA members – Nxera Pharma (formerly Sosei Heptares) and Veld Pharmaceuticals – WODA now provides access to over 200 million rare disease patients. TOKYO and ZUG, Switzerland, April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The World Orphan Drug Alliance (WODA), a global alliance of commercial distributors dedicated to providing access to treatments for rare diseases and specialty medicines in complex markets around the world, has expanded its reach to include Japan and South Korea, as well as the African subcontinent. The addition of two new members – Nxera Pharma (formerly Sosei Heptares) and Veld Pharmaceuticals – brings the total number of countries covered by WODA to 156 and provides access to 200 million rare disease patients. This expansion is an important step towards WODA's goal of providing access to rare disease treatments to patients worldwide. “Adding Nxera Pharma, formerly Sosei Heptares, in Japan and South Korea serves to round out our Asian offering. Nxera Pharma was a logical partner given its depth of experience in those markets, as well as being a net producer of innovation to the world,” said Patrick Jordan, Chairman of WODA. “The African subcontinent, with over one billion lives, has historically been underserved with respect to novel therapies, and the addition of Veld Pharmaceuticals will dramatically increase access.” The Japan and South Korean region will be covered by Nxera Pharma, a technology enabled biopharma company with world-class drug design capabilities and highly experienced clinical development and commercialization teams in the territories. In addition to several products already being commercialized in Japan, Nxera Pharma is focused on accelerating the development of life-changing medicines by investing in science and technology. It has an extensive portfolio of over 30 active in-house and partnered programs advancing from discovery through to late clinical stage with multiple leading pharma and biotech companies. Chris Cargill, President & CEO of Nxera Pharma, commented: “Nxera Pharma is delighted to be a part of WODA’s expansion. People with rare or orphan diseases in Japan and South Korea deserve better access to effective, life-changing medicines. At Nxera Pharma, we are committed to delivering this and I am confident that being part of this global alliance will support our collective mission to provide the best new therapies to patients in need.” WODA also has a strong new member in Veld Pharmaceuticals. “Veld’s goal is to be the one-stop solution for rare and orphan products on the African subcontinent. Named after a type of grassland in Southern Africa that is critical to the ecosystem, Veld aims to be the equivalent to patients suffering from rare and debilitating diseases,” added Sandra Lambert, CEO of Veld Pharmaceuticals. The Alliance now provides a broad outreach with a local focus through 12 separate entities: Specialised Therapeutics (Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia), Medis (Central and Eastern Europe & Nordics), RareStone (Greater China), Path Pharma (Greece, Cyprus, Malta), CTS (Israel), OrphanDC (Latin America), Vector Pharma (Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey), Orpharm (Russia and the CIS region), EffRX Pharmaceuticals (Switzerland), Veld Pharmaceuticals (the African subcontinent), Nxera Pharma (Japan, South Korea), and its global consultancy partner Decisive Consulting. About WODAThe World Orphan Drug Alliance (WODA) is a global alliance of commercial distributors focused on providing access to treatments for rare diseases and specialty medicines in complex markets around the world. WODA aims to provide comprehensive support to pharmaceutical and biotech companies with rare disease, oncology, and highly specialized therapeutics portfolio, starting from Named Patient Programs through to full commercialization. More about WODA: www.woda-alliance.com About Nxera PharmaNxera Pharma (formerly Sosei Heptares) is a technology powered biopharma company, in pursuit of new specialty medicines to improve the lives of patients with unmet needs in Japan and globally. In addition to several products being commercialized in Japan, we are advancing an extensive pipeline of over 30 active programs from discovery through to late clinical stage internally and in partnership with leading pharma and biotech companies. This pipeline is focused on addressing major unmet needs in some of the fastest-growing areas of medicine across neurology, GI and immunology, metabolic disorders and rare diseases, and leverages the power of our unique and industry leading GPCR-targeted structure-based drug discovery “NxWave™” platform to provide a sustainable source of best- or first-in-class candidates. Nxera employs over 350 talented people at key locations in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), London and Cambridge (UK), Basel (Switzerland) and Seoul (South Korea) and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). For more information, please visit www.nxera.life LinkedIn: @NxeraPharma | X: @NxeraPharma | YouTube: @NxeraPharma Media contact for WODATina Vojnovic, Head of Corporate Communication and PRtina.vojnovic@woda-alliance.com, +386 41 744 735 Media and Investor Relations for Nxera PharmaKentaro Tahara, VP Investor Relations and Corporate StrategyMaya Bennison, Communications Manager+81 (0)3 5210 3399 | +44 (0)1223 949390 | IR@Nxera.life Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Erica Hollingsworth – MEDiSTRAVA Consulting +44 (0)203 928 6900 | Nxera@medistrava.com

Akosua Mireku @AkosuaMireku1 A man sitting on living room sofa holding his painful shoulder. Abiogen develops drugs for osteoarthritis. Credit: RealPeopleGroup via Getty Images The Italian pharmaceutical company Abiogen Pharma completed an acquisition of a 97.09% stake in the Swiss orphan conditions-focused EffRx Pharmaceuticals on May 29. This deal follows Abiogen’s recent acquisition of the Cologne, Germany-based Altamedics in December 2022. Altamedics specialises in pharmaceutical distribution in hospital settings. The €8 million ($8,559,480) deal was Abiogen’s first move in its global expansion plan and the deal with EffRx is a continuation of this. Abiogen Pharma specialises in osteoarticular and bone metabolism diseases amongst other therapy areas. The company has developed three bisphosphonates, clodronate, alendronate and Nerixia (neridronate), for the treatment of bone pathologies such as osteoarthritis . Bisphosphonates are drugs that slow the progression of bone loss. EffRx has received several European regulatory approvals for drugs in its portfolio . For example, in July 2022, EffRx launched its paediatric adrenal insufficiency replacement therapy Alkindi (hydrocortisone) in Switzerland. Alkindi is one of EffRx’s three marketed drugs. The company developed and launched Binosto (alendronate sodium) as the first and only buffered solution for osteoporosis. The European Medicines Agency has also approved Efmody for the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia medicine in patients ages 12 years and above in the European Union. The company’s last deal included an exclusive license agreement with the Cardiff, UK-headquartered specialty pharmaceuticals company Diurnal group for the commercialisation of Efmody (hydrocortisone) in Switzerland. In Italy, Abiogen began distributing its bisphosphonates in 2014 and has since seen some successful drug approvals. The biotech transferred the rights for alendronate to Merck which marketed the drug under the brand name Vancapsi. The Italian health authorities also gave Abiogen’s Nerixia the country’s first rare disease designation for Osteogenesis Imperfecta and Complex regional pain syndrome, for which the drug is now approved in Italy. Separate from drug development, the Italian company also offers contract manufacturing and clinical supply services. In a press release , Abiogen’s International Business Unit Head, Prisca Di Martino said, “We are working towards developing Abiogen into an international business, without losing sight of our nature as an Italian and family-run undertaking, and we are pursuing this target by entering into agreements with foreign businesses that share our goals and therapeutic areas.”

PISA, Italy, May 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Abiogen Pharma S.p.A., Italian leading company in the field of osteoarticular and bone metabolism diseases, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 97,09% stake in EffRx Pharmaceuticals SA, a Swiss company that develops and markets prescription drugs targeted in particular to musculoskeletal and rare pathologies on European and international markets. The key active agent developed by EffRx is buffered soluble alendronate which belongs to a class of non-hormonal pharmaceuticals known as bisphosphonates. This medication has been distributed in Italy by Abiogen Pharma since 2014 under a licence agreement. This deal, completed just a few months after the acquisition of the German company Altamedics at the end of 2022, is intended to consolidate the internationalization strategy that started back in 2015 and is a further step towards achieving an ambitious goal: "Besides strengthening our position in Italy – explained Massimo Di Martino, Chairman and CEO of Abiogen Pharma – the acquisition of a majority interest in EffRx is in line with our growth model, serves as a launching pad for our international expansion and confirms our mission and commitment to bone health and rare diseases". In the light of the clear points of contact between the scopes of research and activity of EffRx and Abiogen Pharma, Prisca Di Martino, International Business Unit Head at Abiogen Pharma, commented : "We are working towards developing Abiogen into an international business, without losing sight of our nature as an Italian and family-run undertaking, and we are pursuing this target by entering into agreements with foreign businesses that share our goals and therapeutic areas. Through the acquisition of a majority stake in EffRx, the synergies between our respective expertise and distribution networks will no doubt be the basis for strengthening our international expansion". Lorenzo Bosisio, CEO of EffRx Pharmaceuticals, concluded: "Since its foundation, EffRx has shown steady growth, with a business model resting on two pillars: developing and distributing consolidated own products, as well as licensing, launching and marketing drugs for treating rare diseases. Our partnership with Abiogen Pharma opens up very attractive scenarios to further enhance our pipeline and we are confident that it will provide new and important development opportunities". About Abiogen Pharma S.p.A. -- Abiogen Pharma is headquartered in Pisa, Italy. Since 1997, its business spans across several integrated areas: research and development, manufacturing of pharmaceuticals with its own brand or under third-party contracts, and marketing of own and licensed drugs. Its target therapeutic areas include bone metabolism, pain treatment, as well as respiratory, metabolic (diabetes) and dermatological disorders. In 2022, Abiogen Pharma opened its first foreign subsidiary via the acquisition of the German company Altamedics. With 188 million euros in revenue (2022) and 439 employees, it ranks among the 15 largest Italian pharmaceutical companies. About EffRx Pharmaceuticals SA -- EffRx was established in 2010 and is headquartered in Freienbach, Switzerland. The company develops and commercializes drugs, targeted in particular to musculoskeletal and rare diseases. Its product range includes buffered soluble alendronate, a key agent from the class of bisphosphonates used in the treatment of osteoporosis. EffRx Pharmaceuticals licenses and distributes this drug under license agreements in 29 European and non-European countries. SOURCE Abiogen Pharma