Change in Orion Group Executive Management Board a

ORION CORPORATION    STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE    13 FEBRUARY 2017 at 9.00 a.m. EET                       

Change in Orion Group Executive Management Board as of 21 February 2017

Dr. Reijo Salonen , M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Research and Development of the Orion Group and member of the Executive Management Board of the Orion Group will, according to his employment contract, retire as of 1 July 2017. He will step aside from his current positions (incl. also the membership in the Executive Management Board of the Orion Group) as of 21 February 2017 and has been appointed to the position of Senior Advisor until the end of his employment, reporting still to the President and CEO of Orion Corporation.

Dr. Christer Nordstedt , M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed Senior Vice President for Research and Development and member of the Executive Management Board of the Orion Group, as of 21 February 2017. Nordstedt joins Orion from Eli Lilly, USA, where his latest position was Vice President and Head CNS Research and Clinical Investigation. Nordstedt has worked at Eli Lilly since 2011. Before that time he worked for many years in various leadership positions in Research and Development at Roche in Switzerland and at AstraZeneca in Sweden. Prior to his career in the pharmaceutical industry, Nordstedt held the position of Laboratory Head at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Prior to that, Nordstedt worked in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Greengard (Nobel Laureate 2000) at the Rockefeller University in New York, USA. Nordstedt, born in 1962, is a citizen of Sweden.

Timo Lappalainen, President and CEO, says: "With Reijo Salonen's leadership for the past 10 years, Orion's Research and Development operations have developed into a recognized world-class organization with a strong clinical pipeline and numerous global partnerships. It is my pleasure to thank Reijo for his long lasting and distinguished career as the leader for Orion's Research and Development operations. Reijo's successor, Christer Nordstedt, has held many senior positions in Research and Development in the international pharmaceutical industry. I am confident that with Christer's leadership Orion will continue to develop both clinically relevant new pharmaceutical products and high quality generic products to address the cost containment objectives of payors. I warmly welcome Christer to Orion and as member of Orion's Executive Management Board."  

The CV of Christer Nordstedt is attached. Picture of Christer Nordstedt (http://www.orion.fi/globalassets/pictures/christer_nordstedt.jpg)

Orion Corporation

Contact person: Timo Lappalainen, President and CEO, phone +358 50 966 3692

Appendix: The CV of Christer Nordstedt

APPENDIX The CV of  Christer Nordstedt

Christer Nordstedt Ph.D, Karolinska Institute, Sweden 1991 M.D., Karolinska Institute, Sweden 1989

b. 1962

Senior Vice President, Research and Development as of  21 February 2017

Career 2011-2017      Vice President and Head CNS Research and Clinical Investigation, Eli Lilly Research Laboratory, USA 2007-2011      Global Head and SVP, CNS Discovery, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Switzerland 2000-2007      Vice President Discovery & Preclinical Development CNS/Pain Control, Site Head Mölndal, AstraZeneca, Sweden     1997-2000      Various leadership positions in Research and Development, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Switzerland 1992-1998      Laboratory Head, Clinical Neurobiology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Publisher: Orion Corporation Communications Orionintie 1A, FI-02200 Espoo, Finland Homepage: www.orion.fi

Orion is a globally operating Finnish pharmaceutical company - a builder of well-being. Orion develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients and diagnostic tests. The company is continuously developing new drugs and treatment methods. The core therapy areas of Orion's pharmaceutical R&D are central nervous system (CNS) disorders, oncology and respiratory for which Orion developes inhaled Easyhaler® pulmonary drugs. Orion's net sales in  2016 amounted to EUR 1,074 million and the company had about 3,500 employees. Orion's A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. Founded in 1917, Orion celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2017.