MetaboGen receives NovoSeeds Pre-Seed Grant

Press release              Gothenburg July 3 2013  

MetaboGen receives Novo Seeds Pre-Seed Grant

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has through Novo Seeds decided to award a pre-seed grant of
2.5 MDkk to MetaboGen, for further investigations of biomarkers for unstable
atherosclerosis.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes of deaths in the western world, killing over 2 million
people annually.  Prevention, through constant monitoring of heart health, is considered the best way to tackle theproblem. The cardiovascular market size will exceed USD 3 billion in 2018. 

MetaboGen is a biomarker and personalized treatment company using proprietary metagenomic phenotyping of the gut microbiota to identify new biomarkers, develop novel diagnostic tests
and related treatment options. The awarded project will be performed in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology, Sahlgrenska University hospital in Gothenburg and GU Holding AB, by main
investigators Professor Fredrik Bäckhed and Professor Jens Nielsen, founders of MetaboGen AB.

- We are very pleased to receive this recognition from Novo Nordisk at this stage, says Sara Pellmé, CEO of MetaboGen AB.

- The metagenomic field is growing rapidly as the role of the gut microbiota in metabolic disease becomes more and more evident. The grant for this specific project has great impact on our abilities to move faster in this expanding space, Professor Fredrik Bäckhed says.

- This pre-seed grant represents strong support for MetaboGen in our move towards developing a business case based on metagenomics using our unique platform technologies, Professor Jens Nielsen says.

The pre-seed grant will be used for evaluation of a novel biomarker for unstable atherosclerosis.

For more information, please contact:

Sara Pellmé, CEO MetaboGen AB and Investment Manager, GU Holding AB, sara.pellme@holding.gu.se phone: +46 705-82 32 22

Fredrik Bäckhed, Professor Gothenburg University, fredrik.backhed@wlab.gu.se,                         phone: +46 702-28 23 55

Jens Nielsen, Professor Chalmers University of Technology, nielsenj@chalmers.se,                    phone: +46 702-43 66 18