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Cangene Announces Agreement to Sell U.S. Plasma Centres

Cangene Corporation (Cangene) today announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cangene Plasma Resources, Inc. has entered into an agreement for the sale of its three U.S. based plasma centres to Grifols, through wholly owned Grifols subsidiary, Biomat USA, Inc. (Biomat USA). The transaction is expected to close in October, 2012 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The Company plans to reinvest the net sale proceeds in research and development programs and funding in-licensing opportunities.

Cangene will retain its Winnipeg-based plasma centre which is focused on collecting specialty plasma and plans to source its additional plasma needs from the open market, including through a supply agreement with Grifols.

John A. Sedor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cangene, said "The sale of our U.S. plasma centres is consistent with our refocused specialty biopharmaceutical strategy. With the previously announced cancellation of the IGIV program, we believe it makes more sense to source plasma primarily from the open market, rather than making the significant investment required to achieve scale and become a low-cost competitor in the highly competitive U.S. plasma collection industry. We believe that Cangene is now in a position of strength in the specialty biopharmaceutical space to expand the depth of its pipeline."

"Grifols is committed to ensuring a safe, reliable and consistent supply of source plasma for production of life-saving medicines," said Shinji Wada, President of Grifols Plasma Operations. "The acquisition of these centers further strengthens our existing plasma donation platform across the U.S. and reinforces our commitment to patients who depend on Grifols plasma-derived therapies". Currently, Grifols is a world-leader in plasma collection, with a network of 147 plasma donation centers in the United States that will enable the company to collect more than 6.5 million liters each year.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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