22-03-2011: Zealand Pharma and Pepscan awarded EU grant of EUR 0.9 million for the joint development of novel peptide drugs

Copenhagen and Lelystad, Zealand Pharma (NASDAQ OMX: ZEAL), a Scandinavian based
biopharmaceutical company with a late-stage pipeline of innovative peptidebased drugs, and
Pepscan Holding NV, a Dutch peptide technology firm, today announced the joint award of an
EU research and development grant of EUR 860,000. The grant is awarded under the
EUREKA Eurostars programme for the joint development of dual acting peptide drugs. The
application by Zealand Pharma and Pepscan ranked no. 5 out of approximately 350 applications.
With the collaboration, the two companies combine their competences to develop drugs to better
treat chronic inflammations and gastrointestinal diseases, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Zealand Pharma has a history of efficient discovery of therapeutic peptides and broad expertise in
the development of peptide drugs with dual activities. Pepscan has strong capabilities in the
synthesis of peptides and a unique technology platform to help optimize the activity and the stability
of therapeutic peptides.

The grant awarded to Zealand Pharma and Pepscan covers a two-year development period, which
is expected to lead to the identification of a lead dual acting peptide drug candidate ready for
preclinical development.

Christian Grøndahl, Chief Scientific Officer of Zealand Pharma, said:
“Zealand Pharma and Pepscan have complementary knowledge in the area of therapeutic peptides.
Combining Pepscan’s technology platform for peptide improvement with Zealand Pharma’s unique
expertise in the field of dual acting peptides leaves a very strong foundation for improved design of
novel drugs to more efficiently treat a number of diseases.”

Wim Mol, Chief Executive Officer of Pepscan, added:
”We are very pleased with the high international ranking which our joint project obtained. It is great
that independent European experts also recognize the potential of our technology platform and our
approach to generate superior therapeutic peptides. This grant further supports pivotal collaboration
with reputable partners.”

For further information; please contact
Zealand Pharma
David Solomon, President and CEO – Tel: +45 4328 1210 or mobile: +45 2220 6300
Hanne Leth Hillman, Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Tel: +45 8877 3689 or Mobile: +45 5060 3689

Pepscan
Wim Mol, CEO - Tel: +31 320 225300

About the EU Eurostars programme
The “EUROSTARS” programme supports research and development performing enterprises by providing
funding for their market-oriented research activities. The Eurostars programme is managed by EUREKA –
a pan-European network for market-oriented industrial research and development.- and is collaborative,
meaning it must involve participants from at least two different EUREKA member countries. For more
information, please visit the Eurostars website: www.eurostars-eureka.eu

About Pepscan
Pepscan Holding NV is a privately held company based in Lelystad, The Netherlands. Pepscan is using
its proprietary high throughput CLIPS protein mimicking technology for the development of novel
constrained therapeutic peptides and immunogens. Besides its pipeline of proprietary anti-GPCR
monoclonal antibody products, Pepscan has various ongoing collaborations with leading pharmaceutical
and biotech companies to develop novel therapeutics based on the proprietary CLIPS technology. For
further information on Pepscan, please visit the company website: www.pepscantherapeutics.com

About Zealand Pharma
Zealand Pharma A/S is a public (NASDAQ OMX: ZEAL) Scandinavian based biopharmaceutical
company with a mature and growing clinical pipeline of innovative peptide based drugs. The company’s
lead product candidate is a once-daily GLP-1 in late-stage Phase III development for the treatment of
Type 2 Diabetes in collaboration with sanofi-aventis. Zealand Pharma also has several other collaboration
and licensing partnerships, including a license agreement with Helsinn Healthcare on a clinical stage
GLP-2 drug for the treatment of Radio and Chemotherapy-Induced Diarrhoea.

Zealand Pharma has unique expertise in peptide discovery and optimization and in the development of
novel peptide drugs with favourable therapeutic attributes. The company targets metabolic (diabetes and
obesity), gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases, where existing treatments fail to adequately serve
patient needs and where the market potential for improved treatments through the use of peptide drugs is
high. All of Zealand Pharma’s product candidates have been identified through the company’s own drug
discovery activities. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen and has approximately 90
employees. For more information please visit www.zealandpharma.com.