UPPSALA, Sweden, March 4, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Swedish company Q-Med has started a subsidiary in Spain with the head office in Madrid. The decision is fully in line with Q-Med's strategy of establishing its own subsidiaries in major and strategically important markets.
Since 1998 Q-Med's esthetic products have been sold in Spain via an external distributor. Q-Med's strategy is to sell its products via its own subsidiaries in countries with great market potential or where it is important to have its own presence for other strategic reasons. With its 40 million inhabitants Spain is an important center for fashion and beauty and thereby belongs to this category. In order to take advantage of the full potential of the Spanish market Q-Med has therefore chosen to open a subsidiary of its own with the main office in Madrid.
The President of the Spanish subsidiary will be Alberto Fabregas Gil, a Spaniard with broad experience of the pharmaceuticals industry. He has had, amongst other things, senior positions at companies such as Antibiotics Pharma in Portugal and Upsamedica Laboratories (Bristol- Myers Squibb Group) in Spain.
The Spanish subsidiary will sell Q-Med's esthetic products PERLANE, RESTYLANE and RESTYLANE Fine Lines.
Q-Med is a rapidly growing and profitable biotechnology/medical device company that develops, produces and markets medical implants. All products are based on the company's patented technology for the production of NASHA - Non-Animal Stabilized Hyaluronic Acid. Q-Med's operations focus on the four areas of Esthetics, Orthopedics, Uro-Gynecology, and Cell Therapy and Encapsulation. The products PERLANE, RESTYLANE and RESTYLANE Fine Lines are used for the filling out of lips and facial wrinkles and today account for the majority of sales.
Development of MACROLANE for body contouring, for example breast augmentation, is ongoing. DUROLANE, Q-Med's product for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint, has been approved in Europe since May 2001. DEFLUX is a product which has been approved in Europe and the U.S.A. for the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux (malformation of the urinary bladder) in children. ZUIDEX for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women is estimated to be available in Europe in the middle of 2002. Since July 2000 Q-Med has owned a majority interest in the American biotechnology company Ixion Biotechnology, Inc., with research within cell therapy for diabetes. Q-Med today has approximately 280 employees, with 180 at the company's production facility and head office in Uppsala, 20 at Ixion and the remainder in wholly owned foreign sales companies.
The Q-Med share was first listed on the O-list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange in December 1999.
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net