KARO BIO’S RIGHTS ISSUE FULLY SUBSCRIBED

Stockholm, December 22, 2010 – Karo Bio AB’s (publ) (Reuters: KARO.ST) rights issue of approximately SEK 325 million was fully subscribed. A total of 228,361,055 shares, corresponding to 98.3 percent of the new shares, were subscribed for through the exercise of subscription rights.  Subscriptions for an additional 103,288,239 shares without the exercise of subscription rights, corresponding to 44 percent of the rights issue or SEK 145 million, were also received.

The Board of Directors of Karo Bio has decided on the allocation of the 3,877,328 shares, corresponding to 1.7 percent of the total number of new shares, which had not been subscribed for with the exercise of subscription rights, according to the principles described in the prospectus published on November 25, 2010. Due to the high level of subscription with the exercise of subscription rights, and the large interest in subscribing for shares without subscription rights, a cut-off limit for allocation of new shares subscribed for without the exercise of subscription rights was set at 500 new shares, i.e. no allotments of shares subscribed for without the exercise of subscription rights of less than 500 shares have been made. Persons who has been allocated shares subscribed for without the exercise of subscription rights will be notified through a payment notice which will be dispatched today.

Persons who have exercised subscription rights have received paid subscribed shares (BTAs) registered on their securities account (VP account). BTAs will be converted into ordinary shares when the new share issue has been registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket), which is expected to take place on or about December 27, 2010. A second series of BTA (BTA 2) will be converted into ordinary shares when a final registration has been made with the Swedish Companies Registration Office, which is expected to take place on or about January 7, 2011.

The newly issued shares that have been subscribed for with the exercise of subscription rights are expected to start trading on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm on December 29, 2010. Trading in newly issued shares subscribed for without the exercise of subscription rights is expected to commence on January 10, 2011.

The rights issue provides Karo Bio with approximately SEK 325 million before transaction related costs. The number of shares and votes in the company increases with 232,238,383 to 387,063,972. The share capital increases with SEK 116,119,191.50 to SEK 193,531,986. The subscription price was SEK 1.40 per new share and shareholders were entitled to subscribe for three new shares for each two existing shares held.

For further information please contact:
Fredrik Lindgren, CEO
Phone: +46 70 561 61 77

Erika Söderberg Johnson, CFO and VP Investor Relations
Phone: +46 70 720 48 20

About Karo Bio
Karo Bio is a pharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of innovative drugs for unmet medical needs. Karo Bio’s vision is to become a pharmaceutical company with sustainable profitability, commercial products and a competitive project portfolio.

Karo Bio runs a number of development projects within the indication areas cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuropsychiatry, inflammation, cancer and women’s health. An important foundation for the company’s activities is its unique knowledge of nuclear receptors as target proteins for the development of novel pharmaceuticals, as well as related mechanisms of action. Important processes and competencies within the company include structurally based research, drug discovery, preclinical and clinical development, and medical and regulatory expertise.

Karo Bio has the capacity to process select compounds for niche indications through the whole development chain, while compounds addressing large patient groups require development collaborations or outlicensing at some stage in the process. In addition to proprietary projects, Karo Bio has three strategic collaborations with international pharmaceutical companies.

Karo Bio, headquartered in Huddinge, has 70 employees, and is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm since 1998 (Reuters: KARO.ST).

Karo Bio publishes this information in accordance with the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was published on December 22, 2010, at 08:30 am CET.

This press release is also available online at: www.karobio.com and www.newsroom.cision.com