Unicyte AG, a pioneering leader in human liver stem cells and nano-extracellular vesicles, announced today the formation of its inaugural Scientific Advisory Board with the appointments of Professors Giovanni Camussi, Camillo Ricordi and Paul Robbins.

The board will work closely with Unicyte’s management team to accelerate the company’s lead candidate programs for treating diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetic nephropathy and renal cancer. In addition, it will provide scientific advice for the collaboration between Unicyte and Italy’s University of Turin, in order to foster innovation and new research programs.

“We are thrilled to establish a Scientific Advisory Board for Unicyte with some of the world's leading experts in regenerative medicine, diabetes, metabolic disease and aging as we move our therapeutic programs toward clinical validation,“ said Florian Jehle, CEO of Unicyte and Vice President, Technology & Innovation Management within Research & Development at Fresenius Medical Care.

Unicyte originated from the long-standing research collaboration between Fresenius Medical Care, the world's leading provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases, and Professor Camussi, a top expert in nano-extracellular vesicles and stem cells at the University of Turin. Now an independent affiliate of Fresenius Medical Care, Unicyte has a broad preclinical pipeline focusing on kidney and liver disorders, diabetes and oncology, and will work with partners when needed to advance these therapeutic programs.

The three new members of the Scientific Advisory Board are all highly respected scientists, with international reputations for their research and extensive work on important scientific bodies:

• Giovanni Camussi is Professor and Chairman of Nephrology in the Internal Medicine and Medical Sciences departments at the University of Turin’s School of Medicine and Biotechnology. His research focuses on the purification and characterization of stem cell-derived nano-extracellular vesicles and the characterization of their coding and non-coding RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules. In particular, he has investigated the paracrine action of nano-extracellular vesicles.
• Camillo Ricordi is Professor of Surgery and Director of the Diabetes Research Institute and the Cell Transplant Program at the University of Miami. He led the team that performed the first series of successful clinical islet allotransplants to reverse diabetes, a procedure now used worldwide by laboratories performing clinical islet transplants.
• Paul D. Robbins is Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida and Director of its Center on Aging. His research focuses on developing therapeutic approaches to extend health and reduce frailty using mouse models of aging.¹

Dr. Daniel Gau, Unicyte’s Head of Business Development, said: “Our Scientific Advisory Board comes at the right time to endorse our leading position in the fields of human liver stem cells and nano-extracellular vesicles, as we are anticipating first partnerships for future commercialization. At the same time, the board will guide Unicyte in identifying new areas of focus and potentially disruptive therapies, for the benefit of our patients.”

¹The academic, scientific and research activities and posts of Professors Camussi, Ricordi and Robbins are listed in more detail in an appendix, which can be found in the PDF document.

The Supervisory Board of Fresenius Management SE has unanimously appointed Rachel Empey (41) as Chief Financial Officer of Fresenius, as of August 1, 2017. In this position she will succeed Stephan Sturm (54), who has continued to serve as CFO since his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius last year.

Rachel Empey has been Chief Financial and Strategy Officer of Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG (“Telefónica Deutschland”) since 2011. Telefónica Deutschland is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and, with a market capitalization of more than €12 billion, is a leading TecDAX constituent. Before joining the Management Board of Telefónica Deutschland, Rachel Empey held a number of key international finance and controlling positions in the Telefónica group. She started her career as an auditor at Ernst & Young and business analyst at Lucent Technologies. Rachel Empey is British, a Chartered Accountant and holds an MA (Hons) in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Oxford.

Dr. Gerd Krick, Chairman of Fresenius Management SE’s Supervisory Board, said: “We are pleased to welcome a true financial expert and highly experienced manager as our new CFO. Among all the excellent candidates for this position, Rachel Empey impressed us with her exceptional technical expertise, sound strategic thinking and successful track record. She is a great addition to our proven management team.”

Stephan Sturm said: “I am very much looking forward to working with Rachel Empey. She is going to be the perfect fit for our Management Board. Along with first-rate qualifications and skills, wide-ranging experience and an engaging personality, she will bring new insights to Fresenius from another dynamic and innovative industry.”

Rachel Empey said: “I am very excited to be joining Fresenius and taking up this tremendous professional opportunity. Fresenius has a very strong position in the healthcare industry. I look forward to contributing to the company’s continued growth and consistent success as Chief Financial Officer.”

The Supervisory Board of Fresenius Management SE has unanimously appointed Rachel Empey (41) as Chief Financial Officer of Fresenius, as of August 1, 2017. In this position she will succeed Stephan Sturm (54), who has continued to serve as CFO since his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius last year.

Rachel Empey has been Chief Financial and Strategy Officer of Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG (“Telefónica Deutschland”) since 2011. Telefónica Deutschland is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and, with a market capitalization of more than €12 billion, is a leading TecDAX constituent. Before joining the Management Board of Telefónica Deutschland, Rachel Empey held a number of key international finance and controlling positions in the Telefónica group. She started her career as an auditor at Ernst & Young and business analyst at Lucent Technologies. Rachel Empey is British, a Chartered Accountant and holds an MA (Hons) in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Oxford.

Dr. Gerd Krick, Chairman of Fresenius Management SE’s Supervisory Board, said: “We are pleased to welcome a true financial expert and highly experienced manager as our new CFO. Among all the excellent candidates for this position, Rachel Empey impressed us with her exceptional technical expertise, sound strategic thinking and successful track record. She is a great addition to our proven management team.”

Stephan Sturm said: “I am very much looking forward to working with Rachel Empey. She is going to be the perfect fit for our Management Board. Along with first-rate qualifications and skills, wide-ranging experience and an engaging personality, she will bring new insights to Fresenius from another dynamic and innovative industry.”

Rachel Empey said: “I am very excited to be joining Fresenius and taking up this tremendous professional opportunity. Fresenius has a very strong position in the healthcare industry. I look forward to contributing to the company’s continued growth and consistent success as Chief Financial Officer.”

Fresenius Helios is investing more than €18 million to expand the company’s hospital in the German town of Bad Saarow, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) east of Berlin. The project at HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow includes construction of a new building that will add bed capacity to meet growing demand, and an expansion of the radiology department. The construction is scheduled for completion in spring 2019.

Fresenius Helios is investing more than €18 million to expand the company’s hospital in the German town of Bad Saarow, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) east of Berlin. The project at HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow includes construction of a new building that will add bed capacity to meet growing demand, and an expansion of the radiology department. The construction is scheduled for completion in spring 2019.

At yesterday’s Special Meeting, the shareholders of Akorn, Inc., have approved the merger agreement with Fresenius Kabi, with 83.9% of outstanding shares being voted in favour of the transaction. This corresponds to 99.7% of common shares represented in person or by proxy at the Special Meeting. The approval of the merger agreement fulfills one important condition for the full acquisition of Akorn, Inc. The transaction remains subject to additional customary closing conditions, including regulatory review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act in the U.S.

On April 24, 2017, Fresenius Kabi announced it would acquire Akorn, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer and marketer of prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, for US$34 per share, equivalent to a total acquisition price US$4.3 billion, plus approximately US$450 million¹ of net debt.

For additional information on the performance indicators used please refer to our website https://www.fresenius.com/alternative-performance-measures.

For information regarding non-GAAP financial measures or adjusted figures derived from Akorn’s public information, please see section “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” on Akorn’s FY/16 press release using following link: http://investors.akorn.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=78132&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2250528

¹ Fresenius projection for December 31, 2017

At yesterday’s Special Meeting, the shareholders of Akorn, Inc., have approved the merger agreement with Fresenius Kabi, with 83.9% of outstanding shares being voted in favour of the transaction. This corresponds to 99.7% of common shares represented in person or by proxy at the Special Meeting. The approval of the merger agreement fulfills one important condition for the full acquisition of Akorn, Inc. The transaction remains subject to additional customary closing conditions, including regulatory review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act in the U.S.

On April 24, 2017, Fresenius Kabi announced it would acquire Akorn, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer and marketer of prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, for US$34 per share, equivalent to a total acquisition price of US$4.3 billion, plus approximately US$450 million¹ of net debt.

¹ Fresenius projection for December 31, 2017

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services, has successfully refinanced its existing senior secured credit agreement, originally maturing in 2019.

The amended credit agreement now reflects a simplified, unsecured structure consistent with the investment grade rating of the company and lower tiered pricing. The new structure should also enable future bond issuances to be ranked pari passu with the credit agreement.

The new facility has an aggregate amount of approximately USD 3.9 billion and consists of revolving facilities and term loans, both U.S. Dollar and Euro denominated with maturities in 2020 and 2022.