10th Jul 2007 07:01
IP Group PLC10 July 2007 For immediate release 10 July 2007 IP Group plc IP GROUP SPIN-OUT COMPANY, THERAGENETICS, ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF £3M FINANCING IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group"), the intellectual propertycommercialisation company, is delighted to note that TheraGenetics Ltd ("TheraGenetics" or "the Company"), a personalised-medicine diagnostics companyfocused on central nervous system (CNS) disorders and a spin-out company fromthe Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, has today announced thesuccessful completion of a £3 million Series A venture financing round. Swarraton Partners Ltd ("Swarraton Partners") led the financing withparticipation from Tudor Capital, IP Venture Fund, IP Group's venture capitalfund raised in partnership with the European Investment Fund, and existinginvestor IP Group. As part of the transaction, Mr. Stephen Brooke, ManagingPartner of Swarraton Partners, has joined TheraGenetics' Board of Directors. TheraGenetics has developed a series of proprietary technologies and methods inthe field of personalised medicine based upon pharmacogenetics. Under theumbrella of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, the foundingteam translated 15 years of research into the development of the firstpharmacogenetic test for response prediction in psychiatry. The company isbuilding on that success and developing a portfolio of additionalpharmacogenetic diagnostic tests. Richard P. Kivel, Chief Executive Officer of TheraGenetics, commented: "Thisventure financing round will be used to expand our intellectual propertyposition and expedite the development of our portfolio of pharmacogeneticdiagnostic tests. Our tests will guide Doctors in their treatment of patientssuffering from CNS disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, andmood disorders. We are pleased to welcome Stephen to the Board. He will beinstrumental in our future expansion and success." Stephen Brooke of Swarraton Partners added: "Giving physicians the diagnostictools to predict patient response to CNS drugs has tremendous value. The era ofpersonalised medicine is quickly approaching and TheraGenetics has the potentialto be a leader in the field." For further information, please contact:IP Group plcAlan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer 020 7444 0050Liz Vaughan-Adams (Communications) 020 7444 0062/07979853802 Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson, Mark Court TheraGeneticsRichard P Kivel, CEO , [email protected] LaVoie Group 00 1 978 745-4200 x105Bryan [email protected] 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 31 December 2006, 53 spin-out companies had been created among IP Group'suniversity partners. Of those, eight 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 TheraGenetics TheraGenetics is a privately held, personalised-medicine diagnostics companythat is developing and commercialising a portfolio of pharmacogenetic diagnostictests to guide and improve the treatment of CNS disorders, bringing the rightmedicine to the right patient. TheraGenetics' was created as a spin-out of theInstitute of Psychiatry at King's College London. Swarraton Partners Ltd., IPVenture Fund and Tudor Capital join current investors, IP Group plc andKinetique Biomedical Seed Fund. For more information, please visit www.theragenetics.com. About Swarraton Partners Swarraton Partners is a venture capital firm investing in early stage technologycompanies based on world class European research. About Tudor Capital Tudor Capital is part of the The Tudor Group, which currently manages $17.7billion, and is involved in active trading, investing and research in the globalequity, debt, currency and commodity markets. About King's College London King's College London is the fourth oldest university in England withapproximately 13,700 undergraduates and 5,600 graduate students in nine schoolsacross five London campuses. The College has had 24 of its subject-areas awardedthe highest HEFCE rating of 5* and 5 for research quality and it is home to fiveMedical Research Council Centres, more than any other university. King's has aparticularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences,natural sciences, biomedicine and nursing, and has played a major role in manyof the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of thestructure of DNA. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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