ANTONY, France, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Stallergenes S.A. and Solvay Pharmaceuticals Marketing and Licensing AG (subsidiary of Solvay Group) announce the signing of an exclusive partnership agreement for the promotion and distribution of Stallergenes diagnostic and treatment products in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

With an estimated 20 million allergy sufferers and a strong demand on the part of the medical community for quality products, the Russian market represents a real opportunity for Stallergenes.

The main products in Stallergenes' injectable and sublingual ranges will soon be the subject of registration applications. This partnership will enable Stallergenes to meet more than 80% of the needs of allergy sufferers in Russia and the CIS by 2011.

We're delighted to be teaming up with Solvay Pharmaceuticals to target the potential growth this new market represents. Thanks to its franchise and its considerable expertise recognized by allergy specialists, Solvay Pharmaceuticals will enable us to promote the desensitization standardized products, and notably the sublingual route, and their benefits for patients, declared Albert Saporta, Stallergenes' Chairman and CEO.

We're tremendously enthusiastic about the prospect of collaborating with the world leader in sublingual desensitization therapy and making its innovative standardized products available to practitioners, emphasizes Mr. Jens Neuschaefer, Vice President, Regional Director, Solvay Pharmaceuticals.

*countries concerned: Russia, Georgia, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine).

ABOUT stallergenes' INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Today, Stallergenes markets its products in more than 50 different countries, via 11 subsidiaries throughout Europe and numerous distribution and partnership agreements around the globe.

To help it pursue its development in new markets, Stallergenes is supported by unique expertise and the responsiveness of its structure. In high-potential emerging markets such as Russia, Stallergenes adopts a tailored product offer strategy, working with partners closely involved in the field of respiratory allergy treatment.

In the last five years, five new subsidiaries have been opened in Europe and several partnership agreements have been signed.

ABOUT STALLERGENES

Stallergenes is a European biopharmaceutical company dedicated to desensitization therapies for the prevention and treatment of allergy-related respiratory diseases, such as rhinoconjunctivitis and allergic asthma. A pioneer and leader in sublingual desensitization treatments, Stallergenes devotes 21% of its turnover, in gross terms, to Research and Development and is actively involved in the development of a new therapeutic class: sublingual desensitization tablets.

In 2008, Stallergenes had a turnover of 171 million euros and more than 500,000 patients were treated with Stallergenes desensitization products.

Stallergenes is listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment B and is part of the sample composing the SBF 120 index.

ISIN code: FR0000065674 Reuters code: GEN.PA Bloomberg code: GEN.FP

Additional information is available at http://www.stallergenes.com

ABOUT SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS

Solvay Pharmaceuticals is a research driven group of companies that constitutes the global pharmaceutical business of the Solvay Group. These companies seek to fulfill carefully selected, unmet medical needs in the therapeutic areas of neuroscience, cardiometabolic, influenza vaccines, gastroenterology and men's and women's health. Its 2008 sales were EUR 2.7 billion, and it employs more than 9,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.solvaypharmaceuticals.com.

SOLVAY GROUP is an international chemical and pharmaceutical Group with headquarters in Brussels. It employs more than 29,000 people in 50 countries. In 2008, its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 9.5 billion, generated by its three sectors of activity: Chemicals, Plastics and Pharmaceuticals. Solvay is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Brussels (NYSE Euronext: SOLB.BE - Bloomberg: SOLB.BB - Reuters: SOLBt.BR). Details are available at http://www.solvay.com.

Stallergenes: Contacts: Christian Thiry - Financial Director, Tel.: +33-1-55-59-20-95, e-mail: investorrelations@stallergenes.fr; Press relations, Lise Lemonnier - Communication Manager, Tel.: +33-1-55-59-20-96, e-mail: llemonnier@stallergenes.fr; Investor and Analyst Relations, Lucile de Fraguier - Pavie Finance, Tel.: +33-1-42-15-04-39, e-mail: contact@pavie-finance.com; Solvay Pharmaceuticals: Contacts: Solvay Pharma Russia, Leonid Parshenkov - General Director, Sergey Klipunovskiy - New Business Development Manager, Ekaterina Kryukova - Communication Manager, Tel.: +7-495-411-69-11, e-mail: info@solvay-pharma.ru