Photopharmica Fundraising

IP Group PLC
21 December 2007





Immediate Release                                            21st December 2007



                                  IP Group plc


 IP GROUP PLC -- SPIN-OUT COMPANY PHOTOPHARMICA ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
                               OF £6M FUNDRAISING


IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ('IP Group'), the intellectual property
commercialisation company, is delighted to note that Photopharmica (Holdings)
Limited ('Photopharmica' or 'the Company'), a University of Leeds spin-out
company which is developing pharmaceutical products using photodynamic therapy
(PDT), has today announced the successful completion of a £6 million financing
round.


Photopharmica was established in 2001 to develop novel photosensitisers as
products for medical use and has opened up new applications of topical
photodynamic therapy and produced photosensitisers that have improved properties
compared with those previously available.


IP Group is the registered owner of 1,891,094 Shares in Photopharmica (worth £13
million), representing 49.8% of Photopharmica's enlarged issued share capital.
IP Group has invested £750,000 in the financing alongside investment of £1.5
million from IP Venture Fund, managed by Top Technology Ventures, a subsidiary
of IP Group and £3.75 million from institutional investors. The fundraising will
result in a total fair value gain to IP Group of £5.9 million.


For further information, please contact:


IP Group plc                                                       0845 074 2929

Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer

Liz Vaughan-Adams (Communications)                     020 7444 0062/07979853802


Buchanan

Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson, Mark Court                        020 7466 5000


Photopharmica                                                      0113 384 5634

John Lyon, CEO


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 30 June 2007, 60 spin-out companies had been created among IP Group's
university partners. Of those, nine 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 Photopharmica


Photopharmica was established in 2001 to develop novel approaches to
photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT involves the use of a light source of a specific
wavelength to activate a photosensitive drug which can kill diseased tissues or
infectious organisms. A spin-out from the University of Leeds, Photopharmica's
technology is based on the world-leading research in PDT of Professor Stanley B
Brown, Chief Scientific Officer of Photopharmica and Director, Centre for
Photobiology and Photodynamic Therapy at the University of Leeds.
Photopharmica's lead products have been developed for the treatment of microbial
disease in wounds and sites of open surgery and are based on novel
photosensitising drugs that have several key properties:


   •broad spectrum killing - Photopharmica's light-activated drugs kill many
    of the most common disease-causing microorganisms including Gram positive
    bacteria (eg. Staphylococcus aureus), Gram negative bacteria (eg.
    Pseudomonas aeroginosa and Esherischia coli), fungal organisms (eg Candida
    albicans) and Leishmania parasitic organisms;
   •killing of antibiotic resistant bacteria - Photopharmica's drugs have
    been shown to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria (or 'superbugs') such as
    methicillin resistant Staphyloccocus aureus (MRSA);
   •low susceptibility to resistance - infectious microorganism are less
    likely to become resistant to Photopharmica's drugs than conventional
    antibiotics, due to the mechanism of action of PDT;
   •high selectivity - Photopharmica's drugs are rapidly taken up by
    microorganisms and hence demonstrate high levels of bacterial killing but
    cause limited damage to host tissues;
   •good tolerability - patients treated with Photopharmica's drugs do not
    suffer from the residual light sensitivity and pain experienced with
    existing PDT therapies;
   •ease of manufacture - Photopharmica's drugs are easily synthesised,
    purified and can be manufactured at a commercially viable scale and cost.


Photopharmica's lead product, PPA 904, is in phase II trials for the treatment
of microbial disease within wounds. In July 2007 the company announced
successful Phase IIa results which demonstrated that PPA 904 could bring about a
statistically significant reduction in bacterial load of chronic leg ulcers and
diabetic foot ulcers compared to placebo. In addition, there was evidence of a
treatment effect on wound healing. Photopharmica's second product is in the
clinic for the eradication of nasal colonies of potentially dangerous
microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus in hospital settings.


To date, Photopharmica has received funding from IP Group plc and White Rose
Technology Seedcorn Fund. Yorkshire Cancer Research also has a minority stake in
Photopharmica, having supported much of the PDT research at the University of
Leeds which led to the spin-out of Photopharmica.


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


The University of Leeds


The University of Leeds has a long history of successful entrepreneurial
activity based on leading edge research, generating more than 70 spin-out
companies to date.


ENDS



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