PPG.L Regulatory News (PPG)

1 July 2011

IPSO Ventures plc

("IPSO" or the Company")

THERAKIND PRODUCT UPDATE

Positive opinion from European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Buccolam®

IPSO Ventures plc ("IPSO"), the creator of commercial value from technology, is pleased to report that its portfolio company, Therakind Limited ("Therakind"), has announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion on Buccolam®, a product developed by Therakind.

Buccolam® offers a treatment for prolonged, acute, convulsive seizures in infants, toddlers, children and adolescents, from 3 months to less than 18 years. There are over 50 million people in the world affected by epilepsy, 6 million of whom are in Europe. There are nearly 1 million European children with active epilepsy. In the UK, there are an estimated 58,000 children under 18 with epilepsy.

The current standard treatment for seizures is rectally-administered diazepam, which compromises patients' personal dignity and is not socially-acceptable in the community setting. Buccal midazolam has been shown in four clinical studies to be either comparable or superior in both its effectiveness and speed of onset of action to rectally-administered diazepam for terminating paediatric convulsive seizures. Buccolam® addresses the unmet needs of patients by offering convenience as it is provided in pre-measured, age-specific dose formulation and is administered into the space between the gums and the cheek (buccal cavity).

"Midazolam is recommended for treating prolonged acute convulsive seizures according to published treatment guidelines in European countries, and the availability of Buccolam® - an oromucosal formulation of midazolam - would be an important, convenient and welcomed alternative to treat seizures in paediatric and adolescent patients," said Professor Ian Wong, Director of the Centre for Paediatric Pharmacy Research at the School of Pharmacy, University of London and Founder of Therakind.

Therakind developed Buccolam® with another specialist pharmaceutical company and sponsored the successful clinical trial. The product was then subsequently sold, with some royalties retained, to Viropharma. It is the first Paediatric Use Marketing Authorization (PUMA) application product to receive a positive CHMP opinion. If approved by the European Commission, Buccolam® would be the first product approved through the centralized PUMA procedure.

IPSO has a 36% shareholding in Therakind.

Nick Rodgers, chief executive of IPSO said; "This is a great example of what Therakind is capable of developing and it is a testament to the skills and dedication of the Therakind team that their first product has now gained final regulatory approval."

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Company description

IPSO Ventures plc is a business creator and active investor in new technologies, principally in the renewable energy and healthcare sector. Its experienced management team focuses on adding commercial value to enable young companies to move forward rapidly.