DGAP-Adhoc: Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG:withdrawal from planned investment in Countervail

Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG / Statement

27.02.2008 

Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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SANOCHEMIA:  withdrawal from planned investment in Countervail

- Return of USD 560,000 planned as a deposit  
- Sanochemia remains supplier of galantamine as an antidote

Vienna, 27 February 2008 – Austrian-based Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG today
announces in this ad-hoc disclosure that the company has withdrawn from its
planned investment in Countervail Corp.

On 10 August 2007, the company announced that it intended to acquire around
40% of the capital stock of the US company Countervail Corp. through its US
subsidiary Sanochemia Corp. (Westport, NJ). Sanochemia subsequently made
available to Countervail Corp. capital in the amount of USD 560,000.
Countervail Corp., a privately owned company, was established in order to
protect the civil population and military from chemical and biological
weapons, and regarded galantamine as having numerous possible uses in this
context as a result of data on the substance published by the University of
Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).

Countervail Corp. (Marlton, New Jersey) announced that it had acquired
exclusive rights to develop and market galantamine as an antidote from the
University of Maryland upon which basis Sanochemia and the remaining
investors (Northstar Corp, Invesa Corp, and the University of Maryland,
among others) expressed an interest in pursuing the development of
galantamine. The plan was for Sanochemia to apply its pharmaceutical
know-how of galantamine to synthesise this active ingredient at its Neufeld
plant (Burgenland, Austria) and to take over the necessary galenic
development of formulations for use in the treatment of cases involving
nerve gas and insecticide poisoning.

The US patent applications filed jointly by the University of Maryland and
the US Army proved, despite assurances to the contrary from UMB, to be
difficult to secure since these obviously would have infringed on the
patent rights of third parties. For this reason, Sanochemia has elected to
no longer directly pursue such a high-risk investment and to only offer its
services to Countervail as a supplier of the active ingredient.

The previously transferred amount of USD 560,000 intended for the
investment has already been returned to Sanochemia by Countervail.
Sanochemia currently has no plans to make available resources or capital
other than production capacity.

For further information please contact:
Margarita Hoch
Investor Relations 
phone: +43 / 1 / 3191456 / 335 
fax:      +43 / 1 / 3191456/ 344 
m.hoch@sanochemia.at 



DGAP 27.02.2008 
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Language:     English
Issuer:       Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG
              Boltzmanngasse 9a - 11
              A-1091 Wien
              Österreich
Phone:        +43 (1) 319 14 56-0
Fax:          +43 (1) 319 14 56-44
E-mail:       office@sanochemia.at
Internet:     www.sanochemia.at
ISIN:         AT0000776307
WKN:          919963
Indices:      Prime Standard
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
              in Berlin, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart
End of News                                     DGAP News-Service
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