Over the last few decades, allergic respiratory diseases have become considerably widespread in the population. They have reached record levels in western countries, where it is estimated that about one in four people have clinical symptoms of allergy. About 90 million Europeans and 65 million Americans are affected by allergic respiratory diseases.

Among the therapeutic approaches offered to treat allergies, there is our specialty: desensitisation (or specific immunotherapy) is the only treatment that makes it possible to redirect the immune system by treating the cause of the disease itself.

A forerunner and leader in desensitisation therapies, possessing 45 years of experience, STALLERGENES treated nearly 500 000 patients in 2007. Present in more than 40 countries, our company is dedicated to the research, development; manufacturing and distribution of allergen extract products for the primary treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma.

2007 was another year of vigorous growth (+16%) for STALLERGENES, producing increased profits and enabling the continued intensification of the R&D programme. Operating profit was €25.3m and net profit was €16.3m, up 12%. The board of directors will propose a dividend of €0.40 per share at the General Meeting, an increase of 14%.

These figures are the result of a simple and effective strategy. STALLERGENES, a pioneer in sublingual desensitisation, has constantly improved its products and their means of administration and established new clinical proof of their effectiveness. Today, the sublingual route is recognized by opinion leaders and is popular with both allergy specialists and their patients. STALLERGENES has been able to plan for future growth on this solid foundation, allocating more than 16% of sales to R&D in order to develop allergen tablets that will soon constitute a new class of therapy in the arsenal of drugs for the treatment of allergies and will significantly enlarge the market. In 2007 a large clinical trial demonstrated that ORALAIR^® Grasses was equally effective in children and adults. ORALAIR^® Grasses will be launched in Germany in 2008 in 2008 in both these indications as soon as marketing authorization is obtained, prior to launching in other European countries in 2009. In parallel, the clinical development of ORALAIR^® Mites and ORALAIR^® Bet v 1 (birch pollen) is continuing as planned. 2008 should also see the realization of a partnership for the development and marketing of ORALAIR^® in the United States and Japan. STALLERGENES is actively preparing for this new challenge. Our new fully automated production facility is now operational. It meets the requirements of both the European and American drug agencies (the EMEA and the FDA). Furthermore, with a view to registering ORALAIR^® Grasses in the United States in 2010, we have undertaken to make the necessary changes to our quality systems.

We estimate that the allergens market will be four to eight times bigger than its current size in ten years’ time. STALLERGENES’ investment will contribute to this growth and will enable us to play a major role. This is the objective that we put all of our energy into, with enthusiasm and confidence.

Albert Saporta
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

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