Investment in Theragenetics

IP2IPO Group PLC 07 April 2006 For immediate release 7th April 2006 IP2IPO Group plc Investment in Theragenetics Limited A Personalised Medicine Spin-out Company from King's College London IP2IPO Group plc (AIM: IPO) ('IP2IPO' or 'the Company'), the intellectual property commercialisation company, is pleased to announce that it has invested £390,000 for a 48% stake in Theragenetics Limited ('Theragenetics'), a pharmacogenetic diagnostics spin-out company from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. The investment is part of a seed capital round of £440,000, with co-investment of £50,000 from Kinetique Biomedical Seed Fund. Theragenetic's underlying science has been developed over many years by Professor Rob Kerwin, Dr Maria Arranz and Dr Janet Munro from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. Theragenetics will develop and commercialise pharmacogenetic diagnostic tests to help guide and improve the treatment of schizophrenia and other disorders. The founding academics have a successful track record of translating their personalised medicine research into the commercial setting, and have also worked extensively with major pharmaceutical companies in designing clinical studies for antipsychotics. Commenting on today's announcement, Alan Aubrey, IP2IPO's Chief Executive, said: 'We believe that the high reputation enjoyed by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's is well justified and are very pleased to be establishing what will be our first spin-out company from the School. Theragenetics is addressing a large and important market and we consider that it has the potential to make a significant impact.' Alison Campbell, Managing Director of King's College London Enterprises, said: 'Through the formation of Theragenetics we are able to bring together basic and clinical research and accelerate its development for direct patient benefit.' Professor Rob Kerwin, one of the academic founders of Theragenetics, said: 'This is a good example of translational medicine. It is very exciting to have established Theragenetics to develop our research findings into clinical utility.' For more information please contact: IP2IPO Group plc 020 7489 5200 Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000 Tim Anderson, Mark Court, Mary-Jane Johnson Theragenetics Limited Professor Rob Kerwin 020 7848 0727 King's College London Enterprises 020 7848 6795 Alison Campbell, Managing Director Notes for editors IP2IPO is an intellectual property (IP) company that specialises in commercialising university technology. The Company was founded in 2001 and listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange plc in October 2003. IP2IPO's first partnership was with the University of Oxford. In return for an investment of £20 million, IP2IPO has acquired 50 per cent of the University of Oxford's equity in spin-out companies and technology licenses based on intellectual property created at the Chemistry Department until 2015. In November 2003, IP2IPO created a £5 million seed capital fund for investing in spin-out companies across the University of Oxford, not just those originating within the Chemistry Department. In March 2002, IP2IPO entered into a second long-term partnership with the University of Southampton. Under the terms of this partnership, IP2IPO is committed to working with the University of Southampton in the identification and facilitation of spin-out companies from across the University of Southampton and to investing £5 million in early-stage University of Southampton spin-out companies over a four year period in return for equity stakes in those companies. In addition, IP2IPO also received a 20 per cent stake in Southampton Asset Management Limited, a company that has been formed to hold the University's equity stakes in its spin-out companies. The partnership has a term of at least 25 years. IP2IPO entered into its third long-term partnership in May 2003 with King's College London. IP2IPO works with King's College London to help identify and progress commercialisation opportunities as well as invest £5 million in seed capital in spin-out companies from King's College London over a five year period in return for equity stakes in those companies. In addition, IP2IPO receives 20 per cent of King's College London's equity in spin-out companies and technology licenses. The partnership has a term of 25 years. In October 2003, IP2IPO announced a fourth partnership with the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products ('CNAP'), based at the University of York. CNAP is a flagship research centre that specialises in plant and microbial gene discovery. Under the terms of the partnership a new company, Amaethon Limited, has been created which has the right to commercialise CNAP's IP for 25 years. IP2IPO has invested £1.15m in Amaethon Limited in return for a 40 per cent. equity stake in Amaethon Limited (the remaining equity being owned by the University of York) and will also invest in the spin-out companies based on CNAP's IP which Amaethon Limited creates. In June 2004, IP2IPO acquired Top Technology Ventures Limited, an investment adviser to early stage technology funds. This combines IP2IPO's expertise in the creation of new ventures based on world leading university IP with Top Technology's focus on making early stage venture capital investments. In January 2005, IP2IPO acquired Techtran, a company set up in 2002 to commercialise university intellectual property under a long-term technology commercialisation contract with the University of Leeds. Under the terms of the contract Techtran receives a significant (30 per cent.) interest in spin-out companies created and technology licences negotiated, in return for the provision of technology transfer services to the University. In May 2005, IP2IPO announced the launch of Modern Biosciences, which will in-license life science intellectual property created by medical researchers at universities with which IP2IPO already has partnerships, other universities in the UK and similar academic and charitable research institutions. Modern Biosciences' objective is to further develop the intellectual property which it in-licenses with a view to creating substantial value either by subsequently licensing these development programmes to the pharmaceutical industry or via the creation of new ventures. In December 2005, IP2IPO entered into its sixth long-term partnership with the University of Bristol. IP2IPO will work with the University of Bristol to help identify and progress commercialisation opportunities as well as invest an initial £5 million in seed capital in spin-out companies from the University of Bristol over a five year period in return for equity stakes in those companies. In return, IP2IPO will receive 13.3 per cent of equity spin-out companies from the University of Bristol at the time that the spin-out company is established prior to investment. The partnership has a term of 25 years. In February 2006, IP2IPO entered into its seventh long-term partnership with the University of Surrey. IP2IPO will work with the University of Surrey to help identify and progress commercialisation opportunities as well as invest an initial fund of up to £5 million in seed capital in spin-out companies from the University of Surrey in return for equity stakes in those companies. In addition, IP2IPO will receive 13.3% per cent of in spin-out companies at the time that the company is established prior to investment. The partnership has a term of 25 years. In March 2006, IP2IPO entered into an exclusive long-term partnership with the University of York. The partnership is in addition to IP2IPO's current partnership with the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, IP2IPO will work with the University of York to help identify and progress commercialisation opportunities as well as invest an initial fund of £5 million in seed capital in spin-out companies from the University of York in return for equity stakes in those companies. In addition, IP2IPO will receive 25% of the equity in any spin-out company from the University at the time that the company is established, prior to investment, if IP2IPO invests in the company from the fund and 15% of the equity if it does not invest from the Fund. IP2IPO will also receive 10% of any income which the University of York receives from licencing during the lifetime of the partnership. The partnership has a term of 25 years. To date, 6 spin-out companies from the IP2IPO portfolio have listed on the AIM Market of London Stock Exchange plc: Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping plc, Synairgen plc, VASTox plc, Proximagen Neuroscience plc, GETECH Group plc and Syntopix Group plc. There has been one trade sale: Toumaz Technology Limited was sold to Nanoscience Inc. For more information please visit www.ip2ipo.com King's College London is one of the two oldest and largest colleges of the University of London with over 13,800 undergraduate students and nearly 5,700 postgraduates in ten schools of study. It is a member of the Russell Group: a coalition of the UK's major research-based universities. The College has had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level, and it has recently received an excellent result in its audit by the Quality Assurance Agency. King's is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings, with income from grants and contracts of £100 million, and has an annual turnover of more than £348 million. In 2004 the College was once again awarded an AA- financial credit rating from Standard & Poor's. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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