SLEEPZ AG — M&A Activity 2000

May 31, 2000

News Details

Ad-hoc | 31 May 2000 14:54

Ad hoc-Service: bmp AG 68th investment Otogen

Ad-hoc announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. —————————————————————————— AD-HOC REPORT pursuant to Section 15 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) bmp Life Science AG takes stake in biotech Otogene AG Otogene AG is a pioneer in therapy for hearing complaints Berlin, May, 31st 2000 – SDAX-listed bmp AG has taken a 15 per cent stake in Otogene AG, a biotech company with registered offices in Tübingen (Germany) and Seattle (USA). Otogene was established in 1998 and already has more than 30 employees. Otogene develops new drug therapies to treat inner-ear complaints. The therapeutic substances developed by Otogene make it possible to treat the causes of labyrinthine hearing loss for the first time. This is one of the most common chronic complaints among human beings. In the past, those afflicted could only be provided with a hearing aid, and targeted drug treatment was not available. The new therapy is based on an innovative regenerative biological approach that leads to the renewal of sensory cells in the inner ear. This year, Otogene plans to develop and optimize active substances and to begin in vivo studies. As the first company invested in by bmp Life Science AG that pursues a regenerative biological approach to treat human illnesses, Otogene will contribute towards sustained value growth of bmp’s portfolio. The lion’s share of the additional funds made available to Otogene AG by virtue of bmp’s taking a stake in the firm will be used to finance investment and to recruit further scientific personnel. The investors involved in the initial round of financing for Otogene are tbg Technologie-Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mbH (a subsidiary of Deutsche Ausgleichsbank), and Wellington Partners. Otogene is the sixty-eighth company in bmp AG’s portfolio and the nineteenth on the books of bmp Life Science AG. bmp AG began its venture capital operations in Germany, other European countries and the USA in 1997. Since its establishment, the company has invested some EUR 82.7 million in venture start-ups. Contact: Alexander Faust Investor Relations Manager Charlottenstr. 16 10117 Berlin Germany Phone: +49-30-20 30 50 Fax: +49-30-20 30 55 55 Email: afaust@bmp.com http://www.bmp.com German Stock ID: 523 540 Shares outstanding: 12.2 million individual shares Indices: SDAX/SMAX/CDAX End of Message