Oncopeptides signs agreement with Salus for distribution and commercialization of Pepaxti in Central and Eastern Europe

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STOCKHOLM, May 26, 2026 – Oncopeptides AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: ONCO), a biotech company focused on difficult-to-treat cancers, today announces that it has entered into an agreement with SALUS, Veletrgovina, d.o.o., a company within SALUS Group (“Salus”), one of the leading pharmaceutical distributors in Central and Eastern Europe (the CEE region), for the distribution and commercialization of its flagship drug Pepaxti. The agreement addresses a market potential of approximately 150 million SEK and enables potential sales uptake in this region earlier than previously planned.

Under the terms of the agreement, Salus is granted exclusive rights to market and sell Pepaxti in Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

According to company estimates, the CEE region approximately represents a market potential of 150 million SEK for Pepaxti. Through the partnership with Salus, Oncopeptides is addressing the market potential in these countries significantly earlier than anticipated in the company’s original launch plan.

“We are proud to partner with Oncopeptides to bring this important therapy to patients across the CEE region. At Salus, our mission is to bridge the gap between medical innovation and the patients who need it most,” says Žiga Hieng, CEO of Salus. “We look forward to leveraging our deep local expertise to ensure that patients in these key markets gain access to Pepaxti as quickly as possible.”

Salus will be responsible for local regulatory processes, market access, and commercialization in the agreed territories, while Oncopeptides retains the overall responsibility for the manufacturing and supply of the drug. Sales revenues generated within the agreed territories shall be shared between Oncopeptides and Salus, with Oncopeptides entitled to the greater portion thereof.

“We are very pleased to enter this partnership with Salus, whose strong regional presence and expertise make them the ideal partner for this market,” says Sofia Heigis, CEO of Oncopeptides. “This agreement enables us to make Pepaxti available to patients in Central and Eastern Europe faster than originally planned. We see significant strategic value in the fact that revenue streams from these markets are now projected to arrive earlier than assumed in our previous launch strategy.”

For more information, please visit www.oncopeptides.com, where a Q&A for investors will also be published.

About Oncopeptides
Oncopeptides is a Swedish biotech company focusing on research, development and commercialization of targeted therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers.

The company uses its proprietary Peptide Drug Conjugate platform (PDC) to develop compounds that rapidly and selectively deliver cytotoxic agents into cancer cells. Its flagship drug is currently being commercialized in Europe with partnership agreements for South Korea, the Middle East and Africa and elsewhere.

Oncopeptides is also developing several new compounds based on its two proprietary technology platforms PDC and SPiKE.

The company was founded in 2000, has about 80 employees with operations in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy. Oncopeptides is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm with the ticker ONCO.

For more information see: www.oncopeptides.com

About Pepaxti
Pepaxti® (melphalan flufenamide, also called melflufen) has been granted Marketing Authorization, in the European Union, the EEA-countries Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway, as well as in the UK. Pepaxti is indicated in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior lines of therapies, whose disease is refractory to at least one proteasome inhibitor, one immunomodulatory agent, and one anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, and who have demonstrated disease progression on or after the last therapy. For patients with a prior autologous stem cell transplantation, the time to progression should be at least 3 years from transplantation.

Oncopeptides signs agreement with Salus for distribution and commercialization of Pepaxti in Central and Eastern Europe

Questions and answers

While a licensing agreement naturally involves sharing the top-line revenue, this partnership is a highly cost-effective strategy. By partnering with Salus, we achieve market access much quicker than we could on our own. It also entirely eliminates the need for us to build and maintain our own commercial, medical, and regulatory infrastructure in these specific markets. This translates to lower overhead and execution risk, meaning the net profitability is attractive and cash flows from the CEE region are generated significantly earlier.

An approved application for a broader indication would significantly expand the potential addressable market for Pepaxti across Europe, including the Salus territories. Specifically, moving into the third-line setting seeks to at least double the current addressable patient population. Furthermore, clinical data shows that average treatment cycles are expected to double in the third line compared to the current label. Since our assessment indicates that the pricing landscape allows this expansion without compromising our innovative price, a third-line approval would inherently scale the value of the Salus partnership by increasing the underlying volume potential.

Salus has a proven track record, extensive local expertise, and an established distribution network across Central and Eastern Europe. Navigating the diverse pricing, reimbursement, and regulatory landscapes in these 11 countries requires deep regional knowledge, making Salus an ideal partner to maximize the reach of Pepaxti.

Sales revenues generated within the agreed territories shall be shared between Oncopeptides and Salus, with Oncopeptides entitled to the greater portion thereof.

No. We remain fully committed to our direct commercialization strategy in key European markets (Germany incl. Austria, Italy and Spain). We evaluate the best approach for each market individually, and this approach is not new to us. For example, we have since long sold Pepaxti in Greece through a partnership. This partnership is a targeted approach for certain markets, allowing us to unlock value in regions where building our own infrastructure would be too time-consuming and capital-intensive at this stage.

Oncopeptides retains full control and responsibility for the global manufacturing and supply chain of Pepaxti. Salus will be responsible for the local distribution and commercialization.

Salus will immediately begin the work required for market access and regulatory alignment in these countries. While timelines vary by country, we expect to see the first initial revenues stemming from this agreement in the year following the signing, ramping up continuously thereafter.

We continuously evaluate the most value-creating ways to bring Pepaxti to patients. Where it makes strategic and financial sense to utilize partners to accelerate access we are open to similar agreements.

The immediate focus for Salus is to initiate the pricing and reimbursement processes in the prioritized countries to secure market access as rapidly as possible, paving the way for commercial launch.

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Oncopeptides signs agreement with Salus for distribution and commercialization of Pepaxti in Central and Eastern Europe

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