Imperial Innovations Group Regulatory News (IVO)

12 Mar 2007 08:00

Imperial Innovations Group plc12 March 2007 Imperial Innovations Group plc ("Imperial Innovations") Ionscope Ltd sells first products Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO), the technology commercialisation andinvestment company, announces that ionscope Ltd ("ionscope"), a microscopetechnology company formed by Imperial Innovations and based on research carriedout at Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge has receivedfirst orders for its products. ionscope has won four contracts worth a totalvalue of £200,000 and has shipped against two of them. ionscope products utilise the Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy (SICM)technique to produce images of living cell membranes at resolutions fifty timesgreater than can be achieved using a conventional optical microscope. All otherhigh magnification techniques interfere with or kill living cells, whereas SICMis benign, allowing living cells to be studied over long periods. The techniquehas immediate relevance to processes at nano-scale in the human body. Studiesusing the technique include heart muscle, kidney cells and sperm cells. SICMproducts from ionscope may be integrated with other laboratory systems toprovide a range of unique hybrid techniques, including "smart" patch clamping,ion and agonist delivery, scanning surface confocal microscopy and nano-scaledeposition. The four orders follow the recent appointment by ionscope of representatives inthe USA and UK and distributors in France and Korea. ionscope is currently indiscussion with a number of other parties to extend its distribution network.It recently exhibited at Biophysics 2007 in Baltimore, USA, where there wasgreat interest in this powerful new technique for viewing living tissue at veryhigh magnification. Noah Freedman, CEO, ionscope said: "This is the first year since the company'sfoundation in which we have taken orders for our breakthrough products. Itmarks a significant step forward in the development of ionscope Limited." Susan Searle, CEO, Imperial Innovations said, "ionscope's first product salesare a strong endorsement of their novel technology. The SICM techniques theyprovide offer many advantages and as a result we are confident that ionscopewill continue to expand its business." -Ends- For more information contact: Imperial InnovationsSusan Searle, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)20 7594 6591Lucy Ahfong, Marketing Communications Executive +44 (0)20 7594 6644 ionscopeNoah Freedman +44 (0)207 691 2078 M:Communications +44 (0)20 7153 1539Patrick d'Ancona / Eleanor Williamson Notes to Editors About ionscope Limited ionscope was established in 2002 to commercially exploit scanning ionconductance microscopy (SICM) which has been developed by a joint team ofscientists from Imperial College, London and the University of Cambridge.Publication of research using this technique has stimulated significant interestfrom groups around the world working in biology, biochemistry, medicine and drugdiscovery. SICM is also capable of nano-scale printing and fabrication withbiological molecules. Funding for ionscope to date has been provided by the founders, the directorsand a university seed fund. ionscope works closely with a biophysics group inthe Division of Medicine at the Hammersmith Campus of Imperial College. In thenear future ionscope will be establishing a facility to demonstrate SICM in theLondon Centre for Nanotechnology. About Imperial Innovations Imperial Innovations is one of the UK's leading technology transfer andcommercialisation companies. The company was founded in 1986 and its ordinaryshares admitted to trading on the AIM Market of London Stock Exchange plc inJuly 2006, raising £26 million. The company's integrated approach encompassesthe identification of ideas, protection of intellectual property, developmentand licensing of technology and formation, incubation and investment intechnology businesses. A wide range of technologies are commercialised withinthe areas of healthcare, energy, environment and emerging technology trends. Based at Imperial College London, the company has established equity holdings in66 technology businesses and has completed 90 commercial agreements. ImperialInnovations also commercialises technologies originating from outside ImperialCollege through incubation contracts with the Carbon Trust and WRAP and hasrelationships with a number of multinational corporations including BAE Systems. Imperial Innovations has invested in a range of spin-out companies, includingThe Acrobot Company Limited, Advanced Tissue Therapies Limited, Cardiak Limited,Circassia Holdings Limited, deltaDOT Limited, Equinox Pharma Limited, FutureWaves PTE Limited, HeliSwirl Technologies Limited, InforSense Limited, LontraLimited, Midaz Lasers Limited, NanoBioDesign Limited, Nexeon Limited, NovaTheraLimited, Thiakis Limited and Veryan Medical Limited. Imperial Innovations currently holds shares in four technology businesses nowlisted on AIM including the fuel cell company, Ceres Power plc. www.imperialinnovations.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange