BioWisdom
completes £2.5 million (€3.6 million) development capital financing
26th
March 2003 Cambridge,
UK
- BioWisdom Limited (BioWisdom), a Cambridge based provider of knowledge
technology to the pharmaceutical industry announced today that it has
successfully completed a round of equity financing totally £2.5 million
(€3.6 million).
The
European investment was led by Merlin Biosciences and included MB Venture
Capital Fund I. Several members of the company’s management team and
founders also participated in the current round.
The total amount raised since incorporation is £4.6 million
(€6.7 million).
BioWisdom’s
products provide a framework of biomedical knowledge in a variety of
machine-readable formats, collectively known as ontologies.
These ontologies are used to power software applications to improve
access to biomedical information.
Commenting
on today’s announcement, Mr Mark Docherty, Investment Director of Merlin
Biosciences who has taken a board seat, commented "Ontologies are
becoming increasingly important to the pharmaceutical industry for drug
discovery and we believe that BioWisdom will be the ontology provider of
choice. With their strong
management and products, we are delighted for BioWisdom to be the first
investment in our new fund."
BioWisdom
was founded in September 2000, and has an international customer base of
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and information technology companies.
Dr
Gordon Smith Baxter, BioWisdom's CEO said "The capital secured in the
current financing will be used to build upon the quality of our ontology
products. This will allow us to increase the coverage of our life science
ontologies across a broader range of R&D disciplines, and extend our
strong pipeline of major pharmaceutical customers and existing commercial
relationships."
-ENDS-
Notes
to Editors:
Merlin
Biosciences: Merlin
Biosciences (“Merlin”) is a specialised venture investor in life
sciences companies. Since
1997, Merlin has invested in 23 European biotechnology companies. It is raising its venture fund, the Merlin Biosciences Fund
III, L.P., and has €400 million of funds under management. It has a worldwide, loyal network of advisers and experienced
strategic partners. Merlin
invests in companies that are bringing to market human medicines or
medical devices with groundbreaking technology and great commercial
potential. It has a
reputation as an attractive partner for management teams who can create
substantial value for investors. Merlin
manages The Merlin Biosciences Fund III and advises three
further funds: The Merlin
Biosciences Fund, Finsbury Life Sciences Investment Trust, and The Merlin Fund. Merlin Biosciences Limited is regulated by the FSA.
The
Merlin Biosciences Fund III:
The Merlin Biosciences Fund III L.P. (“Fund III”) is managed by
Merlin, and is
a pan-European biotechnology fund, with an intended hold period for equity
investments of three to five years. It
completed its first close in August 2002 at €92 million, and with
additional commitments, the total was €125 million.
Merlin intends to hold the Final Close in 2003.
Fund III will make equity investments in life science companies
with strong product pipelines or cash flow.
The Fund will invest primarily in the UK and mainland Europe.
-ENDS-
For
more information please contact:
Dr
Gordon Smith Baxter
Chief
Executive Officer, BioWisdom Limited
+44
(0)1223 492100
gordon.baxter@biowisdom.com
Samantha
Axtell
Investor
Relations, Merlin Biosciences
+44
(0) 20 7849 7762
saxtell@merlin-biosciences.com
