21st Dec 2007 07:01
IP Group PLC21 December 2007 Immediate Release 21st December 2007 IP Group plc IP GROUP PLC -- SPIN-OUT COMPANY PHOTOPHARMICA ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF £6M FUNDRAISING IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group"), the intellectual propertycommercialisation company, is delighted to note that Photopharmica (Holdings)Limited ("Photopharmica" or "the Company"), a University of Leeds spin-outcompany which is developing pharmaceutical products using photodynamic therapy(PDT), has today announced the successful completion of a £6 million financinground. Photopharmica was established in 2001 to develop novel photosensitisers asproducts for medical use and has opened up new applications of topicalphotodynamic therapy and produced photosensitisers that have improved propertiescompared with those previously available. IP Group is the registered owner of 1,891,094 Shares in Photopharmica (worth £13million), representing 49.8% of Photopharmica's enlarged issued share capital.IP Group has invested £750,000 in the financing alongside investment of £1.5million from IP Venture Fund, managed by Top Technology Ventures, a subsidiaryof IP Group and £3.75 million from institutional investors. The fundraising willresult in a total fair value gain to IP Group of £5.9 million. For further information, please contact: IP Group plc 0845 074 2929 Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer Liz Vaughan-Adams (Communications) 020 7444 0062/07979853802 Buchanan Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson, Mark Court 020 7466 5000 Photopharmica 0113 384 5634 John Lyon, CEO 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. IP Group has formed long-term partnerships with ten 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, Queen Mary (University of London), the University ofBath and the University of Glasgow. As at 30 June 2007, 60 spin-out companies had been created among IP Group'suniversity partners. Of those, nine have listed on the AIM market of the LondonStock Exchange, one on PLUS Markets and there have been two trade sales. IPGroup also has three 'Modern-themed' subsidiaries - Modern Biosciences, ModernWater and Modern Waste. Modern Water was the first of these subsidiaries tofloat on AIM in June 2007. For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com. About Photopharmica Photopharmica was established in 2001 to develop novel approaches tophotodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT involves the use of a light source of a specificwavelength to activate a photosensitive drug which can kill diseased tissues orinfectious organisms. A spin-out from the University of Leeds, Photopharmica'stechnology is based on the world-leading research in PDT of Professor Stanley BBrown, Chief Scientific Officer of Photopharmica and Director, Centre forPhotobiology and Photodynamic Therapy at the University of Leeds.Photopharmica's lead products have been developed for the treatment of microbialdisease in wounds and sites of open surgery and are based on novelphotosensitising drugs that have several key properties: •broad spectrum killing - Photopharmica's light-activated drugs kill many of the most common disease-causing microorganisms including Gram positive bacteria (eg. Staphylococcus aureus), Gram negative bacteria (eg. Pseudomonas aeroginosa and Esherischia coli), fungal organisms (eg Candida albicans) and Leishmania parasitic organisms; •killing of antibiotic resistant bacteria - Photopharmica's drugs have been shown to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria (or 'superbugs') such as methicillin resistant Staphyloccocus aureus (MRSA); •low susceptibility to resistance - infectious microorganism are less likely to become resistant to Photopharmica's drugs than conventional antibiotics, due to the mechanism of action of PDT; •high selectivity - Photopharmica's drugs are rapidly taken up by microorganisms and hence demonstrate high levels of bacterial killing but cause limited damage to host tissues; •good tolerability - patients treated with Photopharmica's drugs do not suffer from the residual light sensitivity and pain experienced with existing PDT therapies; •ease of manufacture - Photopharmica's drugs are easily synthesised, purified and can be manufactured at a commercially viable scale and cost. Photopharmica's lead product, PPA 904, is in phase II trials for the treatmentof microbial disease within wounds. In July 2007 the company announcedsuccessful Phase IIa results which demonstrated that PPA 904 could bring about astatistically significant reduction in bacterial load of chronic leg ulcers anddiabetic foot ulcers compared to placebo. In addition, there was evidence of atreatment effect on wound healing. Photopharmica's second product is in theclinic for the eradication of nasal colonies of potentially dangerousmicroorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus in hospital settings. To date, Photopharmica has received funding from IP Group plc and White RoseTechnology Seedcorn Fund. Yorkshire Cancer Research also has a minority stake inPhotopharmica, having supported much of the PDT research at the University ofLeeds which led to the spin-out of Photopharmica. For more information, please visit our website at www.photopharmica.com. The University of Leeds The University of Leeds has a long history of successful entrepreneurialactivity based on leading edge research, generating more than 70 spin-outcompanies to date. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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