Oxford NanoLabs Ltd Receives Funding From IP2IPO
30th May 2005
IP2IPO Group plc (AIM: IPO) ("IP2IPO"), the intellectual property company that specialises in commercialising university technology, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a stake of 44.3% in Oxford NanoLabs Limited ("ONL"), a spin-out company from the Chemistry Department at the University of Oxford.
Oxford NanoLabs Ltd (ONL)
Oxford NanoLabs Ltd is developing breakthrough technology for biosensing. Its “NanoPore”technology is based on using protein pores for the highly sensitive detection of a range of medically important molecules. ONL’s objective is to develop a series of products from its platform technology, initially hand-held diagnostic devices for medical testing with longer-term applications in counter-bioterrorism and gene sequencing.
ONL’s underlying science has been developed in the research groups of Professor Hagan Bayley, who previously was based at Texas A & M University and subsequently became Professor of Chemical Biology at the Chemistry Dept in Oxford in 2003. Professor Bayley is one of the world’s leading experts in membrane protein engineering and stochastic sensing.
The company has appointed Dr Gordon Sanghera as Chief Executive Officer. After a spell in academia, Dr Sanghera began his commercial career at Medisense, an Oxford-based company that was sold to Abbot Laboratories in 1996 for £876m. At Medisense, Dr Sanghera played a key role in the development of the company’s glucose strip product, one of the first hand held devices to be developed for diabetic testing. Following the acquisition of Medisense, Dr Sanghera became research director and later worldwide marketing director at Abbot Laboratories where he built up a strong track record for delivering novel diagnostic products to the market.
IP2IPO’s stake in Oxford NanoLabs Ltd is comprised of a 5.3% interest received as a result of IP2IPO’s partnership with the University of Oxford’s Chemistry Department, formed in December 2000, and an interest of up to 39% acquired as a result of a direct investment. The formation of the company was assisted by ISIS Innovation, the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford, who have licensed Oxford IP in the company.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Dr Sanghera, Chief Executive Officer of ONL said, “The NanoPore technology has the potential to revolutionise the diagnostic world. Professor Bayley has developed a broad platform with the potential to address numerous unmet needs in medical diagnostics. The Medisense experience shows just how valuable a breakthrough in point of care medical diagnostics can become and I am delighted to be part of such an exciting opportunity.”
Visit Oxford NanoLabs Ltd (Now Nanopore) website.
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