PolyTherics Ltd - News on 20 June 2007

2008
PolyTherics and Alligator Bioscience announces strategic collaboration for optimisation of next generation biopharmaceuticals
Secretary of State John Denham visits PolyTherics
Novel Approach to Drug Insolubility strengthens PolyTherics patent estate
PolyTherics expands Collaboration with Biocompatibles
PolyTherics-Celtic Pharma Collaboration Agreement to explore technologies for improved drug performance
New Consortium announces Significant Grant Funding of Anaemia product programme

2007
Innovative Drug Production Project secures funding from Technology Strategy Board
Imperial Innovations Annual Report - PolyTherics Limited
PolyTherics highlighted by UK Trade & Investment
Antony Godwin from PolyTherics ties the knot
PolyTherics and BioVectra dcl sign Manufacturing and Representation Deal
Innovative Biopharmaceutical Company, PolyTherics, raises over £2 million
TheraPEG ™ technology ideal for drugs for developing countries

2006
TheraPEG ™ technology wins Research Breakthrough Award
NHS at Hammersmith Hospital applauds new PEGylated IFN
PolyTherics nominated Regional Finalist in UK Biotechnology Entrepreneur Awards 2006
PolyTherics PEGylation technology published in Nature
Debbie Allen and Geeta Gupta joins PolyTherics

2005
PolyTherics and Shantha sign biotech deal
BangaloreBio begins
British High Commissioner addresses Indian biotech companies

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Innovative Biopharmaceutical Company, PolyTherics, raises over £2 million

Imperial Innovations Group plc, the technology commercialisation and investment company (AIM: IVO), Longbow Capital, which focuses on healthcare and technology investments and The Capital Fund, the £50 million Regional Venture Capital Fund for London, today announce that they have completed an investment round of £2.3 million in PolyTherics Limited ('PolyTherics'), an innovative biopharmaceutical company. Longbow Capital's private client base invested £1.3m, and Imperial Innovations and The Capital Fund invested £750,000 and £250,000 respectively.

PolyTherics has developed patent-protected proprietary technologies and expertise in the modification of drugs to improve their performance. In particular, PolyTherics has developed a novel PEGylation technology, known as TheraPEG ™, which can extend the half-life of novel and existing protein drugs. The TheraPEG ™ approach produces an improvement in biological activity and a higher yield when compared with existing PEGylation technologies. This means that drugs, such as Interferon, stay active in the body for longer, enabling longer periods between doses. Patients can therefore be treated less often, with fewer side-effects and at lower cost.

The market for traditional PEGylation has expanded considerably and the TheraPEG ™ technology is positioned both to address existing markets and to open new markets, particularly in the antibody field. PolyTherics already has revenue-generating development contracts in place with several companies and is in discussions with a number of other parties.

PolyTherics is led by Dr Keith Powell and was established in 2002 by Professor Steve Brocchini of the School of Pharmacy, Professor Sunil Shaunak of Imperial College, also Professor of Infectious Diseases at Hammersmith Hospital, and Dr Antony Godwin, the company's Head of Chemistry. Dr Ji-Won Choi joined shortly after formation to establish the biology side of the work. Dr Debbie Allen joined the Company as Business Development Manager at completion; Debbie has over 10 years experience in building business alliances and securing licensing deals for biotech companies.

Keith Powell, CEO, PolyTherics, said,

'PolyTherics has made dramatic progress in the last two years - having products in pre-clinical trials before first round fundraising and a demonstrated core technology makes the company an exciting prospect. PolyTherics has been looking for investors who share our vision and who have brought more than just money to the company. We have been able to access high net worth entrepreneurs and industrialists who are bringing new opportunities and they are advising and supporting us proactively. We now have three partnerships with product-focused pharma companies underway and are already generating revenue from this.'

Julian Hickman, Partner, Longbow Capital, said,

'We are delighted to have the opportunity to support PolyTherics. The Company is well placed with highly developed and established technology and the funding will provide the resources to commercialise. Much of our investment is sourced from Longbow's EIS Portfolio Service which illustrates how effective the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) can be in attracting support from private investors for growing businesses like PolyTherics.'

Susan Searle, CEO, Imperial Innovations, said,

'PolyTherics has made significant commercial and technical progress over the last couple of years. We look forward to supporting the team as the company embarks on its next phase of growth.'

Helen Reynolds, Investment Manager at The Capital Fund, said,

'The Capital Fund is pleased to support PolyTherics by providing some of the vital funding they need to proceed with the next stage of development of their innovative PEGylation technology. The Company's technology has huge potential to play a key role in the successful development of a range of new and existing drugs that can be more beneficial for patients as well as potentially more cost-effective for the NHS. We congratulate Keith Powell and the management team on the significant progress they have already made in bringing products to pre-clinical trials and securing a number of contracts, and wish them every success with their plans.'

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20 June 2007

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