Eckert & Ziegler: New Affiliated Company Launched for Clinical Trials

Berlin, 13 September 2006. Pharmtrace klinische Entwicklung GmbH, a joint venture of Eckert & Ziegler AG (ISIN DE000565970) and a group of medical specialists, started operations in early September 2006 with a number of contracts. Located in Berlin-Buch, this company specializes in clinical trials using imaging processes (e.g. magnetic resonance tomography, computer tomography, positron emission tomography). A major company focus is the application of radiopharmaceuticals to develop new therapeutic substances.

"Demands placed on clinical trials with radiopharmaceutical products differ in many respects from those on conventional preparations," explained Dr. Wolf-Stefan Richter, co-founder and managing partner. "Radiopharmaceuticals often contain short-lived materials that require local production facilities and a specialized infrastructure, as well as special evaluation techniques to the extent that diagnostics are involved. With its experienced development team and access to the cyclotrons and expertise of partner company Eckert & Ziegler, Pharmtrace offers its clients in the pharmaceutical business a unique combination of clinical expertise and local production infrastructure."

Radiopharmaceuticals are being used on a large scale especially for diagnosing cancer and other diseases via positron emission tomography, or PET scans. This very sensitive, non-invasive process can detect the smallest loci of disease. In clinical research, weakly radioactive substances are also used for marking new drugs, because their distribution and effects can thereby be ascertained more precisely than by other methods.

Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik is the largest supplier of radioactive tracers for PET scans in Germany. In addition to its own cyclotron in Berlin, it also operates similar production facilities for the Charité University Hospital in Berlin and the University Hospital in Milan. In addition, Eckert & Ziegler AG supplies automated synthesis modules for producing these special substances via its subsidiary Eckert & Ziegler Eurotope GmbH.

The Board of Directors