ABLYNX EXPANDS AND RELOCATES TO NEW FACILITIES

GHENT, Belgium, 16 October 2006 – Ablynx, the pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, announced today the relocation of its corporate headquarters and R&D to larger facilities in the Technology Park in Zwijnaarde near Ghent, Belgium. The move reflects Ablynx’ strategic expansion and follows its successful €40 million Series C financing announced in August.

The Company will run all R&D operations as well as commercial and financial activities from the new location. The new 2,800 m2 building is two and a half times larger than Ablynx’ previous facility and has capacity to house 150-200 people, enabling Ablynx to expand its workforce to double the current head count of 80 people. Ablynx will be recruiting R&D and G&A staff at all levels over the coming months, in line with the planned expansion of its in-house R&D programs.

Ablynx is well positioned as a leading company in the rapidly growing Benelux biotech cluster. It has been located at the Technology Park in Zwijnaarde since 2001, being one of the first companies in the VIB bio-incubator. The Technology Park has become a major centre for biotech in Belgium with a total of seven biotech companies already based there. The site has an excellent communication infrastructure as it is just 40 minutes from Brussels and only 30 minutes from the Eurostar station in Lille.

Dr. Edwin Moses, Chairman and CEO commented: “Ablynx’ move to these brand new, larger facilities is a critical step in the implementation of our strategy for growth, following the strengthening of our management team and securing of additional finance in 2006. With this move, we will benefit from improved and expanded research facilities ensuring we are in an excellent position to aggressively develop our product pipeline and engage in further strategic collaborations.”

Ablynx’ strategy is to build a diverse and broad portfolio of therapeutic Nanobodies® based on strategic partnerships as well as on its own internal discovery pipeline. It has ongoing collaborations and significant, multi-target partnerships with several major pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Centocor (J&J), Kirin Breweries and P&G Pharmaceuticals.

Ablynx’ new headquarters and research facility are located at Technologiepark 4, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium. Full contact details can be found at  www.ablynx.com.

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About Ablynx - www.ablynx.com

Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, for a range of serious and life-threatening human diseases. Ablynx is developing a portfolio of Nanobody®-based therapeutic programs in a number of major disease areas, including inflammation, thrombosis, oncology and Alzheimer’s disease. Already Ablynx has generated Nanobodies® against more than twenty different disease targets. The company and its collaborators have obtained positive in vivo efficacy data from animal studies in five major therapeutic programs in four disease areas. Importantly, Ablynx has shown the absence of any detectable immunogenicity for its Nanobody® development candidates in advanced primate studies. Today, three of these programs are in advanced preclinical development, and Ablynx expects to have progressed its first program into clinical trials by 2007.

Ablynx has ongoing research collaborations and significant, multi-target partnerships with several major pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Centocor (J&J), Kirin Breweries and P&G. Ablynx is building a diverse and broad portfolio of therapeutic Nanobodies® based on these collaborative deals as well as on its own internal discovery pipeline.

Nanobody®-based therapeutics represent a major commercial opportunity as they combine the beneficial features of conventional antibodies, with desirable properties of small-molecule drugs. Because they are derived from naturally-occurring heavy-chain antibodies, Nanobodies® have unparalleled stability and can be administered in a variety of ways (injected, orally, in sprays or creams), thus overcoming the delivery issues associated with full-sized antibodies, that can only be delivered by injection. In addition, because of their unique structure they can also address therapeutic opportunities that are beyond the reach of conventional antibodies or their fragments, for example targeting epitopes such as receptor clefts, enzyme active sites and viral canyon sites. Nanobodies® manufacture in micro-organisms also presents a significant cost advantage in comparison to production methods for conventional antibodies.

Ablynx holds the dominant patent position in the field of Nanobodies®. It has exclusive and worldwide rights to more than forty families of granted patents and pending patent applications, including the patents covering the basic structure, composition, preparation and uses of Nanobodies® (the ‘Hamers patents’) which have been granted in major territories including the US, Europe and Japan. All products, including therapeutics, that contain Nanobodies® are covered by these patents.

Headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, Ablynx has raised over €70 million (over US$87,5 million) from a strong investor consortium including Abingworth Management (UK), Alta Partners (USA), Biotech Fund Flanders (Belgium), Gilde Investment Management (The Netherlands), GIMV (Belgium), KBC (Belgium), Sofinnova Partners (France), and SR One (USA). Basic Nanobody® patents were contributed by its founding institutions VIB and VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel).

About VIB Bio-incubators - www.vib.be/bio-incubator

The two bio-incubators together cover 7500 m2 and contain a total of 24 units, each of 200 to 250 m2, and a common area with meeting rooms among other amenities.

VIB, the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology, is a research institute where 850 scientists conduct gene technological research in a number of life-science domains, such as human health care and plant systems biology. Through a joint venture with four Flemish universities (Ghent University, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the University of Antwerp, and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and a solid funding program for strategic basic research, VIB unites the forces of nine university science departments in a single institute. Through its technology transfer activities, VIB strives to convert the research results into products for the benefit of consumers and patients. VIB also distributes scientifically substantiated information about all aspects of biotechnology to a broad public.

Contacts:
Northbank Communications:
Sue Charles, CEO
Dr. Christelle Kerouedan, Account Manager
Tony Stephenson, Account Manager (Media Relations)

t : +44 (0)20 3008 7550
e : ablynx@northbankcommunications.com


At Ablynx:
Dr. Edwin Moses
Chairman and CEO
t : +32 (0)9 241 11 51
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)9 261 06 35
m: +32 (0)475 78 36 21 / +44 (0)7990 570 900
e: eva-lotta.allan@ablynx.com