Licensing Deal

14 Aug 2006 07:04

Imperial Innovations Group plc14 August 2006 Imperial Innovations Group plc ("Imperial Innovations") Licensing of Intellectual Property to Synairgen plc Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO), one of the leading technologytransfer and commercialisation companies in the UK, today announces that it hasexclusively licensed certain intellectual property relating to the use ofinterferon-lambda (IFN-lambda), a recently discovered interferon in the treatment of respiratory disease, to drug discovery company, Synairgen plc (AIM: SNG). Under the terms of the licence Synairgen has paid an undisclosed initial fee andwill pay additional fees to Imperial Innovations at particular milestones basedupon the development of the programme and any potential out-licence transactionin respect of IFN-lambda which may occur. The results of a study into the production of IFN-lambda, carried out by Professor Sebastian Johnston and his team at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, suggest its ability to defend against the rhinovirus infection (common cold virus), the most common trigger for the worsening of asthma symptoms. Treatment of asthma exacerbations represents a significant element of the $16 billion annual cost of the disease in the US. Susan Searle, CEO of Imperial Innovations, said: "The swift development of thistechnology could be of huge importance to the treatment of asthma attacks andour licence agreement with Synairgen should, in combination with its existinganti-rhinovirus programme, significantly improve the medication available toasthma sufferers." -Ends- For more information contact: Imperial Innovations Susan Searle, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)20 7594 6591 Lucy Ahfong, Marketing Communications Executive +44 (0)20 7594 6644 M:Communications Harriet Totty +44 (0)20 7153 1590 Eleanor Williamson +44 (0)20 7153 1539 Notes to Editors About Imperial Innovations Imperial Innovations is one of the UK's leading technology transfer andcommercialisation companies. The company was founded in 1986 and admitted totrading on the AIM Market of London Stock Exchange plc in July 2006, raising £26million. The company's integrated approach encompasses the identification ofideas, protection of intellectual property, development and licensing oftechnology and formation, incubation and investment in spin-out companies. Awide range of technologies are commercialised within the areas of bioscience andtechnology and engineering. Based at Imperial College London, the company has established equity holdings in58 spin-out companies 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. Imperial Innovations has invested in a range of spin-out companies including TheAcrobot Company Limited, Cardiak Limited, deltaDOT Limited, Future Waves PTELimited, HeliSwirl Technologies Limited, InforSense Limited, Lontra Limited,NanoBiodesign Limited, Nexeon Limited, NovaThera Limited, Photobiotics Limitedand Veryan Medical Limited. Imperial Innovations currently holds shares in three spin-out companies nowlisted on AIM; fuel cell company, Ceres Power plc, and ParOS plc, a provider ofenergy-saving advanced control solutions, as well as Nanoscience plc, adeveloper of low power integrated circuits and silicon chips, following itsacquisition of spin-out company Toumaz Technology Limited. Website: www.imperialinnovations.co.uk About Synairgen plc Synairgen was founded by Professors Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko Djukanovic, a world-renowned respiratory research team from the University ofSouthampton, and spun-out from the University of Southampton in June 2003. InOctober 2004, the Company floated on AIM, raising £10.0 million (£9.0 millionnet of expenses) to enhance its research and development capabilities and investin its proprietary programmes. For further information, please visit the websiteat www.synairgen.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange