Investment in ReactivLab

IP Group PLC
17 August 2007


For Immediate Release                                             17 August 2007


                                        
                   IP Group makes investment in University of
                      Glasgow spin-out company 'ReactivLab'


IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ('IP Group'), the intellectual property
commercialisation company, is delighted to announce that it has invested
£450,000 in its third University of Glasgow spin-out company called ReactivLab
Limited ('ReactivLab' or 'the Company') for a 33.2% stake.


ReactivLab has been formed to commercialise new animal health diagnostic
technology developed in the University of Glasgow's Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine. The company will provide services and develop kits that can detect
sub-clinical symptoms of inflammation, infection and disease in both companion
and farm animals. These tests can allow pet owners or farmers to know if their
animal is unwell before any visible symptoms appear, enabling early intervention
with the best treatment.


ReactivLab is the third spin-out resulting from IP Group's partnership with the
University of Glasgow, which was announced in October 2006. The first two
companies from the collaboration are XanIC Limited, which is commercialising a
new semiconductor process technology, and Wireless bioDevices Limited, which was
established to commercialise wireless sensor technology for use in medical
diagnostics.


ReactivLab's new diagnostic approach exploits blood proteins known as acute
phase proteins (APPs). APPs are a group of blood proteins that change in
concentration in animals subjected to challenges such as infection,
inflammation, surgical trauma or stress. Quantification of their concentration
can provide diagnostic and prognostic information. The University has identified
specific APPs (and combinations) that act as biomarkers to detect disease or
poor health before visible symptoms appear.


Professor David Eckersall, scientific founder of ReactivLab, is a world-leading
researcher in the area of acute phase proteins in animals and co-ordinates the
European Concerted Action Group on Acute Proteins in Animals. He has specialised
in this field for over 20 years and has presented the findings of his work at
international scientific meetings throughout the world. He is a Professor of
Veterinary Biochemistry at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University
of Glasgow and has been responsible for many of the major advances in monitoring
the APP response in domestic animals such as dogs, cats, cattle and pigs. He has
also invented novel methods for analysis and discovered new applications for the
diagnostic use of APPs showing the benefit of measuring the proteins in a
variety of conditions including bovine mastitis and pneumonia, feline infectious
peritonitis and canine leukaemia.


ReactivLab will exploit this research and provide services in diagnostic testing
for acute phase proteins. For example, blood samples from dogs and cats can be
analysed to assist in the very early diagnosis of diseases such as arthritis,
cancer and various infectious diseases. Diagnostic kits are also planned to make
the approach available world-wide.


APP testing will not only give the opportunity for vets to intervene with
treatments before a condition has advanced significantly; they will also provide
animal owners with a means to monitor animal health on a regular basis.


The diagnostic test technology has already received Synergy Fund investment via
a £200,000 loan from the Fund to the University for pre-incorporation
development which has now been converted into shares in ReactivLab. Synergy Fund
is a Glasgow/Strathclyde university Fund managed by Scottish Equity Partners
(SEP). ReactivLab has also recently received a Scottish Executive SMART Award.


Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: 'We are delighted with the
progress being made at Glasgow. ReactivLab is the first spin-out we have
completed in the exciting and growth area of animal health but is the third
spin-out from Glasgow University within the first year of the IP Group
partnership.'


Prof Steve Beaumont, VP Research & Enterprise, commented: 'The University is
very pleased that research carried out in our internationally renowned Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine has led to a spinout that will assist in the diagnosis of
diseases in animals. This substantial investment from IP Group in addition to
earlier support from the Synergy Fund recognises the confidence we have in the
future success of the business. As we expected, our collaboration with IP Group
has accelerated our spin-out process and we are delighted to announce the
formation of a third company so soon after our partnership was launched.'


Prof David Eckersall, Director, ReactivLab, said: 'Establishing ReactivLab will
allow the acute phase protein tests to become widely available so that instead
of being restricted to our research programmes, their full benefit in being able
to detect even sub clinical disease in dogs and cats will be available to the
pet owning community at large.'


For more information please contact:

IP Group plc                                 020 7444 0050
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer

Liz Vaughan-Adams (communications)           020 7444 0062 / 07979853802
Buchanan Communications                      020 7466 5000
Tim Anderson, Mark Court Mary-Jane Johnson
University of Glasgow                        0141 330 2112

Professor Steve Beaumont, Vice Principal,
Research & Enterprise

Martin Shannon, Media Relations Officer      0141 330 8593
                                             

Notes for Editors


About IP Group


IP Group Plc is an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company that
specialises in commercialising university technology. Founded in 2001, IP Group
listed on AIM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. It
has made two acquisitions to date - Techtran, a company set up to commercialise
university intellectual property under a long term contract with the University
of Leeds, in 2005 and Top Technology Ventures, an investment adviser to early
stage technology venture capital funds, in 2004.


IP Group has formed long-term partnerships with ten universities - the
University of Oxford, King's College London, CNAP/University of York, the
University of Leeds, the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey, the
University of Southampton, Queen Mary (University of London), the University of
Bath and the University of Glasgow.


As at 31 December 2006, 53 spin-out companies had been created among IP Group's
university partners. Of those, eight have listed on the AIM market of the London
Stock Exchange, one on PLUS Markets and there have been two trade sales. IP
Group also has three 'Modern-themed' subsidiaries - Modern Biosciences, Modern
Water and Modern Waste. Modern Water was the first of these subsidiaries to
float on AIM in June 2007.


For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com


About the University of Glasgow


Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is one of the UK's leading
universities with an international reputation for its research and teaching and
an important role in the cultural and commercial life of the country.


With almost 16,000 undergraduate and 4,000 postgraduate students, it is one of
the country's largest universities. Employing 5,700 staff, it is a major
employer in the city and, with an annual turnover of £285M, it makes a
substantial contribution to the local economy. The University's world-class
research base includes pioneering work in the fields of medicine, engineering,
ethics, physics, and astronomy. The University is also leading the way in
ultramodern disciplines like bioelectronics, cell signalling, nanotechnology,
and optoelectronics.


For more information, please visit our website at www.glasgow.ac.uk.


Supported by:

Project Part-financed by The European Union







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