Orexo signs exclusive worldwide license agreement for a novel formulation

Uppsala, Sweden, 28 August, 2009 - Orexo (STO: ORX) announces it has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with a Novartis affiliate to develop and commercialise a novel product related to Orexo’s OX17 program. Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will fund all future development of the new product and will receive an exclusive license to all related intellectual property. Orexo will receive milestone payments upon major development achievements, and will be eligible for further milestone payments upon the attainment of certain sales targets. In addition, Orexo will receive royalties on future sales of the product. The agreement’s financial terms were not disclosed. Torbjörn Bjerke, President and CEO of Orexo, commented “Our development collaboration with Novartis, one of the finest healthcare companies in the world, has been outstanding and I am now very pleased to extend this to a full licensing agreement for the new product. This agreement is potentially an important step towards Orexo becoming a sustainable profitable pharmaceutical company. We are convinced that Novartis will make the new product a success.” – Ends – For more information, please contact: Torbjörn Bjerke, President and CEO, Orexo Tel: +46 (0) 708-66 19 90 E-mail: torbjorn.bjerke@orexo.com Johan Andersson, Investor Relations Manager, Orexo Tel: +46 (o) 702-10 04 51 E-mail: johan.andersson@orexo.com Notes to Editors About Orexo Orexo is a pharmaceutical company focusing on developing treatments for pain and inflammation. The company has four products on the market as well as a competitive product portfolio in late stages of development. Sales and product development are mainly carried out through worldwide partnership agreements with larger pharmaceutical companies. Orexo has 128 employees, and has its head office located in Uppsala, Sweden. More information can be found at www.orexo.com. Product portfolio Commercialized products with distribution- and marketing agreements Product Indication Status AbstralTM Breakthrough cancer pain Marketed in EU, Phase III in US and Japan Partnered with: ProStrakan, Gedeon Richter, Hospira, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Neopharm and NovaMed EdluarTM Insomnia FDA approved, launched in the USA Partnered with Meda Diabact® UBT / Heliprobe®System Diagnosis - Helicobacter pylori Marketed in EU and other territories* *Marketed through Kibion AB, subsidiary of Orexo Partnered development projects Product Indication Development phase Partner(s) OX-NLA Rhinitis Phase III-ready Meda OX-MPI Pain, inflammation Pre-clinical development Boehringer Ingelheim OX17 Certain disorders Phase II/III Novartis Prioritized projects for which licensing discussions have begun Product Indication Development phase OX914 COPD/Asthma Phase II Arachidonic Acid Franchise (OX2477/OX-CLI) Asthma/COPD Pre-clinical OX641 Migraine Pre-clinical OX-PKX Various projects using the PharmaKodex platform Formulation Projects with potential for further development OX219 Opioid addiction Ready for clinical studies OX30 Chronic pain Pre-project More information can be found at www.orexo.com. Note: This is information that Orexo AB (publ) is required to disclose pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act. The information was provided for public release on August 28, 2009 at 08:00 CET.