11th Aug 2005 07:02
IP2IPO Group PLC11 August 2005 For immediate release 11 August 2005 IP2IPO Group Plc Investment in Avacta Limited IP2IPO Group Plc (AIM: IPO) ("IP2IPO") is pleased to announce that it hasinvested £300,000 in cash in Avacta Limited ("Avacta"), a spin-out company fromthe University of Leeds. IP2IPO's investment into Avacta increases its equityinterest to a 46.8% stake. Avacta is developing breakthrough technology that integrates multiplespectroscopic techniques with novel biotechnology to enable the uniquecharacterization of highly complex biological and chemical substances - even atthe level of single molecule sensitivity. This technology platform has a numberof different applications in the homeland security, healthcare, biotechnologyand pharmaceutical sectors. The company is already working on a majorcollaborative project developing technology for remote detection of hazardoussubstances for defence and counter terrorism purposes. Avacta has also developed technology to enable high throughput screening ofmembrane bound drug targets which represent approximately 35% of predicted newtargets. Due to their insolubility, membrane proteins are particularly difficultto handle and no high throughput screening technique is currently available tothe pharmaceutical industry. Avacta is headed by Professor Alastair Smith, Professor of Molecular Biophysicsat the University of Leeds, who has a world class track record of developingenabling technologies for the biophysical sciences. Avacta's co-founders are DrSimon Webster, Dr Kurt Baldwin and Alan Brain. Drs Webster and Baldwinpreviously worked with Renishaw plc and were key members of the team that wasresponsible for designing the world's market leading Raman spectrometers. MrBrain was formerly the Head of Microscopy at Smith and Nephew Research Centre inYork. Professor Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta, said: "We have developed Avacta's IPin response to significant unmet market needs. We believe that the ability ofour platform technologies to uniquely characterize complex chemical andbiological systems will lead to a range of products that will provide enormousbenefits to companies operating in the healthcare, homeland security,biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. This investment will enable us tocomplete the development of our first products." For more information please contact: IP2IPO 020 7489 5200David Norwood, Chief Executive Officer Avacta, University of Leeds 0113 343 3875Prof. A. Smith, Chief Executive Officer Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000 Mark Court, Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for editors IP2IPO is an intellectual property (IP) company that specialises incommercialising university technology. The Company was founded in 2001 andlisted on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange plc in October 2003. IP2IPO's first partnership was with the University of Oxford. In return for aninvestment of £20 million, IP2IPO has acquired 50 per cent of the University ofOxford's equity in spin-out companies and technology licenses based onintellectual property created at the Chemistry Department until 2015. InNovember 2003, IP2IPO created a £5 million seed capital fund for investing inspin-out companies across the University of Oxford, not just those originatingwithin the Chemistry Department. In March 2002, IP2IPO entered into a second long-term partnership with theUniversity of Southampton. Under the terms of this partnership, IP2IPO iscommitted to working with the University of Southampton in the identificationand facilitation of spin-out companies from across the University of Southamptonand to investing £5 million in early-stage University of Southampton spin-outcompanies over a four year period in return for equity stakes in thosecompanies. In addition, IP2IPO also received a 20 per cent stake in SouthamptonAsset Management Limited, a company that has been formed to hold theUniversity's equity stakes in its spin-out companies. The partnership has a termof at least 25 years. IP2IPO entered into its third long-term partnership in May 2003 with King'sCollege London. IP2IPO will work with King's College London to help identify andprogress commercialisation opportunities as well as invest £5 million in seedcapital in spin-out companies from King's College London over a five year periodin return for equity stakes in those companies. In addition, IP2IPO will receive20 per cent of King's College London's equity in spin-out companies andtechnology licenses. The partnership has a term of 25 years. In October 2003, IP2IPO announced a fourth partnership with the Centre for NovelAgricultural Products ('CNAP'), based at the University of York. CNAP is aflagship research centre that specialises in plant and microbial gene discovery.Under the terms of the partnership a new company, Amaethon Limited, has beencreated which has the right to commercialise CNAP's IP for 25 years. IP2IPO hasinvested £1.15m in Amaethon Limited in return for a 40% equity stake in AmaethonLimited (the remaining equity being owned by the University of York) and willalso invest in the spin-out companies based on CNAP's IP which Amaethon Limitedcreates. In June 2004, IP2IPO acquired Top Technology Ventures Limited, an investmentadviser to early stage technology funds. This combines IP2IPO's expertise in thecreation of new ventures based on world leading university IP with TopTechnology's focus on making early stage venture capital investments. In January 2005, IP2IPO acquired Techtran, a company set up in 2002 tocommercialise university intellectual property under a long-term technologycommercialisation contract with the University of Leeds. Under the terms of thecontract Techtran receives a significant (30%) interest in spin-out companiescreated and technology licences negotiated, in return for the provision oftechnology transfer services to the University. In May 2005, IP2IPO announced the launch of LifeUK, a new subsidiary company.LifeUK will in-license life science intellectual property created by medicalresearchers at universities with which IP2IPO already has partnerships, otheruniversities in the UK and similar academic and charitable researchinstitutions. LifeUK's objective is to further develop the intellectual propertywhich it in-licenses with a view to creating substantial value either bysubsequently licensing these development programmes to the pharmaceuticalindustry or via the creation of new ventures. To date, 4 spin-out companies from the IP2IPO portfolio have listed on the AIMMarket of the London Stock Exchange plc: Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping plc,Synairgen plc, VASTox plc and Proximagen Neuroscience plc. 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