Ablynx (EBR:ABLX) ABLYNX ANNOUNCES TECHNICAL ADVANCES IN ITS NANOBODY® PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY: ENHANCED BENEFITS FROM PULMONARY DELIVERY AND HALF-LIFE EXTENSION

Ablynx (EBR:ABLX) * Pulmonary delivery of anti-viral Nanobodies® gives extended protection against viral infection in vivo * In vivo proof of concept for its novel proprietary half-life extension technology

GHENT, Belgium, 14 January 2009 - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, announced today two significant advances achieved with its Nanobody® platform. In the first, it has shown that anti-viral Nanobodies® give extended protection against viral infection in vivo when administered via an intrapulmonary route. In the second, Ablynx has demonstrated in vivo proof of concept for a proprietary novel half-life(*) extension technology which allows the half-life of its Nanobody®-based therapeutics to be tailored depending on the disease indication.

Pulmonary delivery of Nanobodies® Ablynx has demonstrated that anti-viral Nanobodies® protect against signs of viral infection and presence of active virus when delivered via an intrapulmonary route. Following a single administration of the Nanobodies® via the lungs, neutralization of virus was observed for at least 72 hours.

Additionally, Ablynx has shown that Nanobodies® are suitable for systemic delivery(**) via the lungs. Their extended bioavailability is increased by a factor of five to ten times compared with intravenous administration.

Ablynx is also investigating other alternative delivery technologies for its Nanobodies® including oral to systemic delivery and needleless administration.

Novel proprietary half-life extension technology Ablynx has access to several different methods to tailor the half-life of its Nanobodies® depending on the desired characteristics of the therapeutic drug candidate and the indication. The Company announced today that they have discovered and developed a novel proprietary half-life extension technology and demonstrated in vivo results which show considerable potential to significantly increase the half-life for its Nanobodies® in humans.

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For more information, please contact: College Hill Life Sciences - for UK/International media enquiries: Sue Charles, Justine Lamond, John McIntyre t: +44 (0)20 7866 7857 f: +44 (0)20 7866 7900 e: ablynx@collegehill.com

Ablynx: Dr. Edwin Moses Chairman and CEO t: +32 (0)9 262 00 07 m: +44 (0)7771 954 193 / +32 (0)473 39 50 68 e: edwin.moses@ablynx.com

Eva-Lotta Allan Chief Business Officer t: +32 (0)9 262 00 75 m: +32 (0)475 78 36 21 / +44 (0)7990 570 900 e: eva-lotta.allan@ablynx.com

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LINK: http://hugin.info/137912/R/1282211/286864.pdf

Ablynx

http://www.ablynx.com
ISIN: BE0003877942

Stock Identifier: XBRU.ABLX