Appointment at Novocellus Ltd

11 Nov 2005 07:29

Angle PLC11 November 2005 For Immediate Release 11 November 2005 ANGLE plc APPOINTMENT: NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, NOVOCELLUS LIMITED ANGLE plc, the venture management and consulting company specialising in thecommercialisation of technology is pleased to announce the appointment of JimEveritt as Non-Executive Chairman at venture company, Novocellus Limited('Novocellus'). Jim Everitt brings to Novocellus a wealth of senior management experience. He iscurrently Managing Director of MMCS, a company providing marketing andconsultancy services within the healthcare arena, as well as Non-ExecutiveChairman of Summit Medical Limited. Previous experience includes Non-Executive roles at Chiltern Invadex PLC, BleaseMedical Holdings Limited, and Protherics PLC as well as Chairman of TheMicrobiological Research Authority, CEO of Vickers Medical, Chairman ofAssociation of British Healthcare Industries and Managing Director of a Glaxosubsidiary. Novocellus was established by ANGLE in 2004, under its Progeny(R) programmethrough a collaboration agreement with the University of York.The company is commercialising a clinical diagnostic test developed by ProfessorHenry Leese at the University of York (UoY), which it is anticipated will, forthe first time, enable the selection of only the most viable pre-implantationhuman embryos for use in in vitro fertilisation (IVF) infertility treatment. Currently, the selection of embryos for transfer back to the uterus involves ahighly subjective visual assessment of embryo quality and thus viability. Thisselection technique achieves relatively poor pregnancy and live birth rates(c.22 per cent.). In mitigation of the low 'success' rate, embryologists feel itnecessary to transfer two or more embryos at a time. This practice results in alarge percentage of multiple births and a corresponding and unacceptably highincidence of perinatal mortality and serious birth defects. It is expected thatNovocellus' technology will improve current IVF rates by at least a third whichwill facilitate the move to routine single embryo transfer and a reduction inmultiple births. It is estimated that more than 750,000 fresh IVF cycles are performed worldwideeach year and that this number is increasing at the rate of 15 per cent. perannum. At this growth, the annual number of IVF cycles will increase to around1.3 million by 2010. It is estimated that the worldwide revenue opportunity for Novocellus' productis as much as $1 billion per annum. Commenting on the appointment, Group Chief Executive, Andrew Newland said: "We are delighted to have secured someone with Jim's valued experience andbackground. He is an expert in the field of health care and well qualified tolead Novocellus' development. "Novocellus is making ground-breaking progress in the improvement of IVFtechnology, an area of strong market demand world-wide. Jim's skills will beinvaluable as we bring the product to market." For further information please contact: ANGLE plc +44 1483 295830Andrew Newland, Chief Executive Buchanan Communications +44 20 7466 5000Richard Darby, Suzanne Brocks, James Strong Notes to Editors: About ANGLE Founded in 1994, ANGLE is an international venture management and consultingcompany focusing on the commercialisation of technology and the development oftechnology-based industry. ANGLE creates, develops and advises technologybusinesses on its own behalf and for its clients. ANGLE operates from offices inthe UK, the US and the Middle East. ANGLE is listed on AIM (AGL.L); further information can be found atwww.angleplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange