Imperial Innovations Group Regulatory News (IVO)

RNS Number : 2489H

Imperial Innovations Group plc

17 February 2010

 

Imperial Innovations Group plc

 

Innovations leads £3m funding round to develop PolyTherics' technologies

 

London, 17 February 2010. Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO, 'Innovations'), a leading technology commercialisation and investment company, has committed an additional £2m to portfolio company PolyTherics, as part of a £3m round to support the application of PolyTherics' technologies to proteins and peptides for therapeutic use.

 

Co-investors Longbow Capital and The Capital Fund also participated in the round. Following its investment, Innovations will own 35% of PolyTherics.

 

Many modern drugs are created from peptides and proteins, but may be unstable or cleared too quickly from the bloodstream. PolyTherics is developing ways to address these shortcomings by combining biologics with a polymer known as Polyethylene glycol (PEG). This process, known as PEGylation, stabilises drug molecules and increases their lifespan and duration of action in the body, resulting in more effective treatment and less frequent dosing.

 

PolyTherics has improved on current PEGylation techniques with its patented TheraPEG™ technology, already shown to be a cost effective and scalable process. Two further platforms for targeted PEGylation, HiPEG™ and CyPEG, now give the Company the ability to adapt virtually any biologic drug candidate for therapeutic use.

 

This investment will enable PolyTherics to develop its PEGylation capabilities further and demonstrate their applicability to biologics with development potential as 'biobetter' products. The Company will continue to use the technology in-house and to license it out to biopharmaceutical companies.

 

PolyTherics has made significant progress in licensing its technologies, having recently announced a new research and product development agreement with Celtic Pharma, the third product-focused partnership with this company. PolyTherics has already licensed TheraPEG™ to Shantha Biotechnics (recently acquired by Sanofi Aventis) with the resulting therapeutic product now being developed for clinical trials.

 

Keith Powell, PolyTherics' Chief Executive Officer said:

 

"The financial support that Innovations has given PolyTherics will enable us to realise the full commercial potential of our PEGylation technologies, both through our in-house programmes and through partnership with companies developing cost effective biopharmaceuticals.

 

Susan Searle, Imperial Innovations' Chief Executive Officer, said:

 

"PolyTherics' PEGylation technologies have the potential to make a significant impact on drug development in many different fields of healthcare. It is this kind of technology, addressing global needs, that we regard as a high priority for the substantial funding and support we can provide."

 

 

-ends-

Enquiries:

 

Imperial Innovations	020 7594 6589
Susan Searle, Chief Executive Officer
Diana Crisp, PR Manager
College Hill	020 7457 2020
Carl Franklin/Tony Stephenson
J.P. Morgan Cazenove (NOMAD to Imperial Innovations)	020 7588 2828
Steve Baldwin

 

 

Notes to editors

 

Imperial Innovations - www.imperialinnovations.co.uk 

 

Innovations creates, builds and invests in pioneering technologies addressing global problems in healthcare, energy and engineering. It combines deep understanding of science and technology with commercial acumen and strong investment expertise. 

 

Innovations supports scientist-entrepreneurs in the commercialisation of their ideas by:

·; leading the formation of new companies and providing facilities in the early stages,

·; providing significant investment and encouraging co-investment to accelerate the transition from R&D to products,

·; providing operational expertise, and

·; helping to recruit high-calibre industry figures and experienced entrepreneurs as executive management and Board members.

In some situations it is more appropriate to license out some of the diverse range of IP-protected technologies, rather than develop new businesses around them. This will provide Innovations with long-term profitable revenue streams.

 

Innovations has exclusive access to scientific and technological developments coming out of Imperial College London, one of the world's leading research institutions. It has already achieved significant success with its early investments; for example its £1.5m investment in obesity drug developer Thiakis could return up to £22m, following its sale to Wyeth for £100m in 2008.

 

In the year to July 2009, Innovations invested £14.4m in 20 ventures, helping to launch six new companies. With a technology portfolio of more than 80 companies, Innovations' most advanced assets, in addition to Thiakis, include:

·; Ceres Power (now listed on AIM): Micro combined heat and power generators for domestic use

·; Circassia: Innovative treatments for a wide range of allergies

·; Nexeon: Cheaper, greener rechargeable batteries

·; Respivert: Discovering new treatments for respiratory diseases, including asthma

·; VeryanMed: Stents inspired by the human vascular system

 

 

PolyTherics www.polytherics.co.uk.

 

Founded in 2002, PolyTherics is a spin-out company from Imperial College London and the London School of Pharmacy that is dedicated to using biomedical polymers to optimise pharmaceuticals for the treatment and cure of the world's most important diseases.

 

 

PolyTherics has developed and patented innovative approaches to PEGylation, known as TheraPEG™, HiPEG™ and CyPEG™, to prolong the half-life of proteins and peptides for therapeutic application. PEGylation is the process by which poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) is chemically attached to biologic entities to modify their pharmacokinetic properties.

 

PEGylation increases the time that a compound remains in the bloodstream before being metabolised or excreted by the body, improving its half-life, increasing its duration of action and potentially reducing treatment frequency. These benefits in turn decrease side effects and improve patient compliance. For example, PEGylated interferon treatments for Hepatitis C can be administered once rather than the three times per week required for the non-PEGylated form.

 

PolyTherics is pursuing a two-pronged business model: developing PEGylation projects in house for later stage out-licensing, and partnering with companies seeking technologies to create cost effective therapies. Both strands of business are already generating revenues for the Company.

The Company's future strategy is in three areas:

·; Licensing of PEGylation technologies to biopharmaceutical companies for product development;

·; Partnerships for the development of PEGylated 'biobetter' products;

·; Application of PEGylation expertise to novel peptides and proteins.

 

PolyTherics is established in facilities in the London Bioscience Innovation Centre (LBIC). The Company received investment of £2.3 million from Innovations, Longbow Capital LLP and The Capital Fund in June 2007.

 

 

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