24th Aug 2006 07:00
IP Group PLC24 August 2006 For Immediate Release 24 August 2006 IP Group plc ("IP Group" or the "Company") Retroscreen Virology Limited receives funding from IP Group plc IP Group plc (code: IPO), the intellectual property commercialisation company,is pleased to announce that it has invested £1,000,000 for 51,133 ordinaryshares in Retroscreen Virology Limited ("Retroscreen"), a spin-out company fromQueen Mary, University of London. Following the investment, IP Group will have a25% stake in Retroscreen. Retroscreen is Europe's leading contract virology research company. Founded byProfessor John Oxford, the scientific director of Retroscreen and adistinguished expert in virology, Retroscreen's turnover for the year ended 31July 2005 was £1.1 million and profits after taxation were £0.1 million.Unaudited turnover and profits after taxation for the year ended 31 July 2006were £2.4 million and £0.5 million respectively. Retroscreen's work is dedicated to creating the next generation of Antiviralsand Vaccines specifically for the treatment of, amongst other viruses, avianinfluenza (bird-flu), HIV, SARS and rhino-virus. Retroscreen undertakes andco-ordinates several clinical trials per year involving student and staffvolunteers or patients in General Practice, particularly involving influenza orcommon cold viruses or vaccines. Retroscreen also undertakes pre-clinicalprojects. The investment by IP Group in Retroscreen represents the first investment as part of the partnership with Queen Mary, University of London announced in July 2006. Bruce Campbell, Chief Scientific Officer of IP Group, will become a non-executive director of Retroscreen. Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: "We are delighted to have madeour first investment in a Queen Mary spin-out company less than one month aftersigning a long term partnership with the college. Retroscreen is a profitable,fast growing business that is well positioned to benefit from the need forpharmaceutical companies to develop drugs to counter the threats to human healthposed by viruses such as SARS and avian-influenza (bird flu). In addition webelieve that Retroscreen can benefit from synergies with certain other IP Grouptechnologies and portfolio companies" Rob Lambkin, Managing Director of Retroscreen, said: "The entire team atRetroscreen Virology Ltd is very excited by this investment. The investment willallow us to further develop and expand the wide range of contract virologyresearch services we offer to companies from around the world, these includesimple laboratory testing to large scale clinical trials. We have solidscientific plans for the future including new disinfectants to stop virus causeddiarrhoeal outbreaks on cruise ships and hospitals, as well as global threatsfrom West Nile and avian influenza viruses." For further information, please contact: IP Group plc 020 7489 5200Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive OfficerLiz Vaughan-Adams (communications) 020 7489 5206/07979853802 Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000Mark Court, Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for Editors About IP Group IP Group Plc is an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company thatspecialises in commercialising university technology. Founded in 2001, IP Grouplisted on AiM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. Ithas made two acquisitions to date - Techtran, a company set up to commercialiseuniversity intellectual property under a long term contract with the Universityof Leeds, in 2005 and Top Technology Ventures, an investment adviser to earlystage technology venture capital funds, in 2004. The group has formed long-term partnerships with eight universities - theUniversity of Oxford, King's College London, CNAP/University of York, theUniversity of Leeds, the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey, theUniversity of Southampton and Queen Mary, University of London. As at 30 June 2006, 44 spin-out companies had been created among the group'suniversity partners. Of those, eight have listed on the AiM market of the LondonStock Exchange and there has been one trade sale. For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Ip Group