AMP.L Regulatory News (AMP)

5 Apr 2007 07:01

Amphion Innovations PLC05 April 2007 Amphion Innovations Partner Company Motif Biosciences Closes $1m Financing 05 April 20007 - Amphion Innovations plc, a builder of companies in lifesciences and technology, today announces that one of its partner companies,Motif Biosciences, Inc, a population genetics company in the Arabian GulfRegion, has raised $1 million in a Series C financing. Amphion, which owns 42% of Motif, has invested $400,000 as part of this round.Motif is in the process of raising up to $3 million in capital and anticipatesthat it will conclude additional financing rounds in the coming months. The continued development of Motif demonstrates Amphion's commitment to buildingcompanies that are addressing important needs in the marketplace. Motif is apopulation genetics company focused on discovering genes causing common diseasesby utilising human genetic data from the Persian/Arabian Gulf region, where thepopulations are far less genetically diverse and thus much easier to analysethrough applied genomics. Motif has leveraged its resources to develop apatent-pending methodology for collecting and analysing genetic data. Over the next five years, more than half of the world's top selling drugs willgo off patent and as a result, pharmaceutical companies are spending billions ofdollars on developing new compounds, many of which never even make it to phasethree testing. There is a significant need for drug companies to develop theirpipelines more efficiently and by applying discoveries made possible by themapping of the human genome, researchers can better understand the underlyingmechanisms of hard-to-treat diseases such as diabetes, asthma and autism. The latest round of financing will support research taking place in the areas oftype-2 diabetes and asthma. Amphion's close involvement with Motif also underscores its commitment toestablishing itself in the Gulf region, the world's third fastest growingeconomy. Earlier this year, Amphion announced a Heads of Agreement with twoprominent Kuwaiti families to establish a joint venture focused on the supportand development of several Gulf-based life sciences and technology companies. Amphion's chief executive officer, Richard C.E. Morgan, said: "Motif represents a great opportunity for Amphion as drug companies are facingan uphill battle to quickly develop new and better drugs. Motif has a uniqueexpertise in collecting and analysing genetic data, which allows for drugcompanies to apply principles of genomics efficiently as they race to developnew drugs that can treat some of the most challenging and chronic diseaseconditions." Zaki Hosny, chief executive officer of Motif, added, "We are excited that investors see the tremendous value in what we do. We haveassembled a world class collection of scientists to undertake the highly complextask of cataloging and analysing large amounts of genetic data that we believecontain answers to some of the most difficult questions in medicine today." As part of Motif's ongoing commitment to its operations in the Gulf, the Companyhas named Dr. Faisal Al-Refaei to be its Regional Director in the region. Dr.Faisal most recent assignment was as at the Kuwait Ministry of Health. Dr.Faisal received his Masters in Health Care Administration from the University ofSwansea and his Medical Degree from Aberdeen University. For further information please contact: Amphion Innovations plcJosh Berkman, Media Relations +1 (646) 747 7158 Seymour PierceDavid Newton +44 207 107 8000 Financial DynamicsJohn Gilbert +44 207 269 7169 About Amphion Innovations plc Amphion Innovations plc is listed on the AIM Exchange in London under the symbolAMP. Amphion's business is the formation, financing, management and developmentof life sciences and technology companies, working in partnership withcorporations, governments, universities and entrepreneurs seeking tocommercialize their intellectual property. www.amphionplc.com About Motif Biosciences, Inc. Motif BioSciences, Inc. (http://www.motifbio.com) is a population geneticscompany focused on discovering genetic causes of major diseases by interpretingthe wealth of genomic data from Arabian Gulf Region. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange