23 May 2008 07:00
Amphion Partner Company, Myconostica, Ltd. announces the completion of a £5.4 million fundraising and the appointment of a new Non-Executive Director
London and New York, 23 May 2008 - Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP), the developer of medical and technology businesses, today announces that its Partner Company, Myconostica Ltd., a University of Manchester spin-out that specialises in a new type of 'molecular' diagnostic test for infectious diseases, particularly life-threatening respiratory fungal infections, has raised a further £1 million from the UMIP Premier Fund ("UPF") at £40 per share on the third close of the oversubscribed Series C Preferred financing, bringing the total raised in this Series to £5.4 million.
Amphion now owns approximately 23% on a fully diluted basis of Myconostica, Ltd., which is now valued, fully diluted, at approximately £14 million post money.
UPF was established in April 2008 to make capital gain by investing in University of Manchester spin-out companies. This is their first investment in Myconostica and they join the existing investors, principally Nexus Medical Partners (Boston, US), Innoven Partenaires (Paris), Medicis Ventures (Munich), and Amphion Innovations, the lead investor from the first round. With funding from a broad range of UK and European institutional and supranational investors, including EIF (European Investment Fund), the Fund has initial backing of €42 million (£32 million).
Fungal pneumonia is the leading cause of infectious death in leukaemia and after bone marrow transplantation is the most common first manifestation of AIDS. Myconostica's test detects the two most common causes of fungal pneumonia, which account for over 95% of cases, in less than 4 hours.
The total capital raised in this financing will support the launch of Myconostica's first two products. The first product is the world's first real-time molecular diagnostic simultaneously testing for both Aspergillus and Pneumocystis. The second product is a fungal DNA extraction system. The clinical studies supporting CE marking, which enables sales in Europe and several other territories, were presented at Europe's leading infectious disease conference (ECCMID) in Barcelona in April of this year. The investment will also allow development and launch of further diagnostic tests in the FXGTM series targeting other critical fungal infections, such as the fungi causing sepsis and bloodstream infections. Myconostica will be applying to the FDA for regulatory approval to launch the products in the US market.
Myconostica is also delighted to welcome to their Board Dr. David Holbrook, who leads the healthcare practice of MTI, the manager of the UPF fund.
David, a qualified doctor, has worked in hospital medicine before joining management consultants LEK and later working in Business Development and Licensing with leading Pharmaceutical companies. David subsequently headed up Imperial College's spin-out operations and seed fund. Immediately prior to joining MTI, Dr Holbrook was on the board of Onyvax Limited, a vaccines company. He has an MA from Oxford and an MBA from Harvard.
Jerel Whittingham, Chief Executive Officer of Myconostica commented on the completion of the third and final close of the funding round, "We have succeeded in attracting leading international investors in the sector who know we can only succeed commercially by making a real difference medically. At such a difficult time in financial markets, Myconostica's success in this oversubscribed fund-raising is a tremendous endorsement of both our rapid progress to date and of our commercial prospects".
Richard C.E. Morgan, Amphion's Chief Executive Officer said, "With the close of this successful financing, we look forward to bringing Myconostica's innovative products to market in order to help the many patients who suffer from respiratory fungal infections each year".
For further information please contact
Amphion Innovations plcCharlie Morgan, Director of Communications +1 212 210 6224 (New York)
Cardew Group Tim Robertson/ Jamie Milton/ Matthew Law +44 020 7930 0777 (London)
Charles Stanley Securities - Nominated AdviserMark Taylor / Freddy Crossley
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion (LSE: AMP) builds shareholder value in high growth companies in the medical and technology sectors, by using a focused, hands-on company building approach, based on decades of experience in both the US and UK. Amphion has significant shareholding in 10 Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces, each in excess of $1 billion. Each Partner Company is chosen with the goal of achieving an exit valuation in excess of $100 million.
On the web: www.amphionplc.com
About Myconostica, Ltd.
Myconostica is a University of Manchester spin-out company specialising in molecular diagnostic tests for life-threatening respiratory fungal infection. Myconostica has its Head Office and laboratories in South Manchester, and has strong links to one of the University of Manchester's teaching hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital and the Regional Mycology Laboratory, Manchester. Founded by David Denning, Professor of Medicine and Medical Mycology, with assistance from Nick Montague and the University of Manchester, Myconostica has a strong pipeline of products, the first of which will be launched in 2008.
On the web: www.myconostica.co.uk
About The UMIP Premier Fund ("UPF")
UPF invests in businesses emerging from The University of Manchester's "5-star" rated academic departments. The University's technology transfer company, UMIP, undertakes the stringent business selection of the investments and the fund is managed by the UK's leading technology investment manager, MTI Partners.
The Fund will primarily make late-seed stage investments, in a total of 15 - 20 companies, initially in the £250k - £750k range, with both the intention and capacity to provide follow-on investment up to £3m.
The UMIP Premier Fund is supported by the European Union through the
"Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme" ("CIP").