Investment in eBioinformatics
Intl. Biotechnology Trust PLC
26 May 2000
For more information please contact:
Jeremy Curnock Cook, Director
International Biotechnology Trust plc
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7634 2881
E-mail: tanneke.zeeuw@ramasset.co.uk
Katja Stout
HCC.De Facto Group plc
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7496 3300
E-mail: k.stout@hccdf.co.uk
IBT MAKES INVESTMENT OF $3 MILLION IN EBIOINFORMATICS -
A LEADING BIOINFORMATICS PLAYER
Friday, May 26, 2000 London, UK... International Biotechnology Trust, (LSE:
IBT), announced today that it has invested US$3 million in US-based
eBioinformatics, a leading bioinformatics Application Services Provider (ASP).
IBT was a co-lead investor as part of a US $10 million second round private
equity financing of Series C preferred stock.
eBioinformatics is the first ASP to focus on providing bioinformatics services
for bioinformatics services to the academic and biotechnology communities.
Bioinformatics, the use of computers to analyse biotechnological data, is now
a key element of both basic scientific research and new drug development.
Outside of the world's largest and well-funded genome research centres,
researchers often find themselves without access to the specific
bioinformatics data or software applications they need to carry out their
work, due to burdensome licensing costs, specialized computing requirements,
and maintenance expenditures. eBioinformatics enables any researcher to take
advantage of state-of-the art bioinformatics resources over the Internet,
using a unique, low-cost, pay-as-you-go access model. The company is
headquartered in Pleasanton, California and has a fully-owned subsidiary in
Sydney, Australia.
Jeremy Curnock Cook, Director of IBT said:
'The life-sciences industry is in a desperate need for information technology
solutions that can facilitate the interpretation of complex data, and there is
an increasing need to combine early stage data with that from clinical trials
to improve the success and speed of drug development. eBioinformatics is
offering lab scientists worldwide access to databases and analytical tools
that were previously only available at high cost and through licensing
agreements.
'We are pleased to be making an investment in this innovative bioinformatics
company, occupying a niche market, which we expect to yield a significant
return on investment for our shareholders,' he added.
Dr Jonathan Hepple of the bioscience unit at Rothschilds will be joining the
Board of Directors as part of this transaction.
Howard Goldstein, CEO of eBioinformatics, commented,
'I am delighted that IBT has come in as an investor to provide us with the
financial support and industry expertise that we need to expand our
competitive marketing worldwide, increase corporate and operational staffing,
expand our supplier base as well as quicken development of future products and
services.'
The new investors to the Company are International Biotechnology Trust,
Colonial First State Private Equity and CSL Limited, whilst several current
investors participated in the round including Rothschild's Australian
Bioscience Trust, Allen & Buckeridge and 3iBioscience Investment Trust
(previous Biotechnology Investments Limited).
This is IBT's sixth investment in 2000 as the company continues to reinvest
gains realised by some recent divestments.
IBT's Top 10 core holdings as at 18th May 2000 were:
Value (£) Proportion of NAV as at
18th May 2000
Targeted Genetics Corporation 25,022,543 10.08%
Cell Therapeutics Inc 18,338,588 7.39%
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. 17,070,483 6.87%
Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc. 16,645,304 6.70%
Corvas International Inc. 14,506,068 5.84%
Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. 11,861,625 4.78%
Biocompatibles International plc 8,452,790 3.40%
Delsys Pharmaceutical Corporation 6,751,282 2.72%
OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. 5,084,559 2.05%
NetGenics Inc. 4,283,734 1.73%
Further information on IBT at www.internationalbiotrust.com
Issued by International Biotechnology Trust plc and approved by Rothschild
Asset Management, which is regulated by IMRO. As IBT invests in the
biotechnology sector, investments in IBT should be regarded both as long term
and as carrying a high level of financial risk. Accordingly share value may
fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested.
Notes to editors
1. International Biotechnology Trust plc
www.internationalbiotrust.com
International Biotechnology Trust PLC (IBT) was launched to take advantage of
the investment opportunities arising in mid-stage life science companies, with
emphasis on investing a larger amount in relatively fewer companies, and
involving a close working relationship with investee companies through the
provision of strategic management support and sector expertise.
International Biotechnology Trust - Key Data
* Founded in 1994
* £ 248 million net asset value of investment at 18th May 2000
* Listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE.L)
* Managed by the bioscience unit at Rothschild Asset Management
* Invests primarily in mid-stage biotechnology companies
* Investment criteria
- sound technology platform
- under-resourced
- good prospects for commercialisation
* Further financing may be invested where appropriate
* Strategic support and management development provided
* 21 core investments (including eBioinformatics)
14 in US, 3 in UK, 1 in Germany, 3 in Canada
2. eBioinformatics
eBioinformatics was established in April 1998 to provide web-based, per-use
access to bioinformatics and biotech related e-commerce for life scientists in
pharmaceutical, biotech, agricultural, government and university laboratories.
eBioinformatics is a spin-off of the highly successful ANGIS (Australian
National Genomic Information Service) bioinformatics service, which has
provided bioinformatics resources to more than 3,000 Australian academic,
biotechnology, agriculture and pharmaceutical R&D scientists since 1991. The
company offers application access, hosting product procedure and management
services via the Internet.
eBioinformatics website, BioNavigator.com, acts as a portal for life science
researchers to obtain access to public and commercially available analytical
tools, databases and to order laboratory reagents. For the suppliers of
databases, analysis tools and reagents, BioNavigator is a web-based
distribution channel with the potential to reach any researcher who can access
the Internet.
eBioinformatics, which currently employs 43 people, is led by Howard
Goldstein, CEO, who has previously served as Vice President of Sales at Incyte
Pharmaceuticals and Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Customer Services at
Molecular Devices Corporation. Tim Littlejohn, who is the founder and
currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer, is recognised worldwide as a
leader in the creation of Internet accessible bioinformatics.
For more information about eBioinformatics and to preview BioNavigator
free-of-charge, visit www.eBioinformatics.com.
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