Circassia appoints Dr Brett Haumann as CMO

13 September 2012

Imperial Innovations Group plc

Circassia appoints Dr Brett Haumann as Chief Medical Officer

Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO, 'Innovations'), a leading technology commercialisation and investment group, announces that its portfolio company Circassia, a speciality biopharmaceutical company focused on allergy, has appointed Dr Brett Haumann as Chief Medical Officer. Dr Haumann will join the board with immediate effect.

Dr Haumann joins from GlaxoSmithKline where he was Vice President and Medicines Development Leader, managing the development of their next generation of inhaled respiratory products. He has over 15 years' experience in pharmaceutical development, having held senior positions at Glaxo Wellcome prior to this.

Dr Haumann has extensive experience in leading phase III development programmes, working with regulators and scientific opinion leaders, and co-ordinating market access and commercial activities.

Prior to this Dr Haumann also practised internal medicine and carried out clinical research in his native South Africa. He has a medical degree gained at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and an MBA from the Open University in the UK.

Susan Searle, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Innovations, said:

"Brett will be a valuable addition to Circassia's management team. His extensive regulatory, medical and development experience in leading important clinical programmes will be vital as Circassia advances its lead products towards the final phase of clinical testing."

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Imperial Innovations - www.imperialinnovations.co.uk 

Innovations creates, builds and invests in pioneering university technologies addressing global problems in healthcare, energy, engineering and the environment. It combines deep understanding of science and technology with commercial acumen and strong investment expertise.

Innovations supports scientist-entrepreneurs in the commercialisation of their ideas by:

·; leading the formation of new companies and providing facilities in the early stages

·; providing significant investment and encouraging co-investment to accelerate the transition from R&D to products

·; providing operational expertise

·; helping to recruit high-calibre industry figures and experienced entrepreneurs as executive management and Board members

Innovations invests in companies based on technologies from or associated with four universities: Imperial College London; and Cambridge University, Oxford University, and UCL supported by its collaborations with Cambridge Enterprise, OSEM and UCL Business. These are the UK's leading research intensive universities, measured by research income.

By raising £140 million in January 2011, Innovations has been able to accelerate the making of, and increase the size of its investments. In the year to 31 July 2011, Innovations invested £35.1 million (2010: £14 million) in 23 ventures, and launched six new companies.

In its current portfolio of 78 companies, Innovations' most advanced assets include Circassia, which develops innovative vaccines for the treatment of a wide range of allergies; and Nexeon, a battery materials and licensing company which develops silicon anodes which extend the life and increase the capacity of lithium-ion batteries.

About Circassia - www.circassia.co.uk 

Circassia was founded in 2006 by a team of highly experienced biotechnology scientists and entrepreneurs, and is chaired by the former Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, Sir Richard Sykes. The company is based in the UK on the Oxford Science Park, and its joint venture with McMaster University (Adiga Life Sciences Inc) is located in Hamilton, Canada. Circassia's ToleroMune technology was developed originally by scientists at Imperial College, London. Having successfully completed five fundraising rounds, Circassia has raised approximately £105 million ($178 million) and is backed by a syndicate of world-class institutional investors, including Imperial Innovations and Invesco Perpetual.