23rd
July 2002Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd (CBT) has secured a £6 million
series 'A' financing from The Cambridge Gateway Fund, Merlin
Biosciences, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation and
Northern Venture Managers Ltd.
The investment will be used by CBT to support the company's programmes
in the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the
treatment of pain and obesity, and in the identification of novel drug
targets.
CBT has an intellectual property portfolio which includes novel GPCR
agonists, which the company is using to develop a novel analgesic, and
a series of small molecule appetite modulators. CBT also has an
exclusive licence to use a proprietary technique for the amplification
of mRNA from a small number of cells; this technology is being used to
identify novel therapeutic targets to feed the drug discovery
pipeline.
The company has ambitious and expansive growth plans and has already
identified the scope and timing of the series 'B' financing.
"At CBT we have a great team and some really exciting programmes,"
said Dr Michael Kilpatrick, Chairman of CBT. "This investment
will provide the resources necessary to rapidly progress these
opportunities to add shareholder value."
Dr Catherine Beech, of The Cambridge Gateway Fund, said "CBT is
unusual in an early stage company as it has strengths in target
identification, drug discovery and already has two well established
programmes in key therapeutic areas. We are very excited to have
invested in this opportunity"
About Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd
Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd (CBT) is a privately owned biotechnology
company founded in May 2001. The company's founders originate from a
Pfizer Global Research & Development drug discovery team in what
had previously been the Parke-Davis Neuroscience Research Centre. The
founders, together with some key academic collaborators, created the
company to exploit several drug discovery opportunities in pain and
obesity as well as their world class "gene to lead" drug
discovery capability.
Definition of Technical Terms
GPCR agonists
GPCR stands for G-protein coupled receptor. GPCRs are a family of
proteins found on the surface of cells. They function to bind
molecular signals present outside the cell, such as hormones and
neurotransmitters, and transmit the information to the cell.
Traditionally GPCRs have proved to be very successful drug targets for
the pharmaceutical industry. Agonists are molecules that activate the
receptors to mimic the action of the endogenous signaling molecule
specific to that receptor.
mRNA
mRNA is the molecule that translates the information present in genes
into proteins. In any given cell at any given time, only a subset of
the genes is "expressed" i.e. switched on. Studying the mRNA
present within a cell provides information about which genes are
expressed in that cell.
Contact
Dr Michael Kilpatrick - Chairman
Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd
Department of Pharmacology
University of Cambridge
Tennis Court Road
Cambridge
CB2 1PD
Tel: 07050 128 569
Information in this press release may include forward-looking
statements, which embrace risk and uncertainties. However all
information included in this text is based on information available at
the time of issue. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results could differ materially from current
expectations.
List of Investors
The Cambridge Gateway Fund
The Cambridge Gateway Fund invests predominantly in companies with
global reach that are connected to the Eastern Region of the UK, and
which are exploiting innovative core technology in Information and
Communication Technologies and Life Sciences.
Advised by N W Brown Capital Partners Limited, the Fund is part of the
NW Brown Group which has been serving the needs of growing companies
and their employees for 25 years in the Eastern region of the UK.
Based in the centre of Cambridge, the Group is active in a number of
business areas including investment management, corporate finance and
insurance. It employs 90 people.
Merlin Biosciences
Merlin Biosciences Limited (Merlin) is a broad-based venture capital
and advisory company dedicated to the life sciences sector. It has one
of the largest, most experienced biotech investment teams in Europe
and is currently advising funds approaching 400 million. Merlin
supports companies in all stages of their development - from early
stage, through pre-IPO and post-flotation and has an extensive network
of advisers and experienced strategic partners. Merlin advises three
funds which encompass this spectrum of development: The Merlin
Biosciences Fund, Finsbury Life Sciences Investment Trust, and The
Merlin Fund. Merlin Biosciences Limited is regulated by the FSA. For
additional information, please visit our website at
www.merlin-biosciences.com
Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation
Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), the venture
capital arm of Johnson & Johnson, focuses on minority equity
investments in start-up healthcare companies with particular emphasis
on biopharmaceutical products and medical devices.
JJDC is headquartered in New Jersey, USA, with offices in California,
Belgium, Israel, Japan and the UK.
Northern Venture Managers
Northern Venture Managers is a specialist venture capital management
firm, which operates from offices in Newcastle upon Tyne, Reading and
Edinburgh and now has assets under management of more than £150
million. Since June 2000 NVM has been part of the Edinburgh Fund
Managers group.
Among the funds managed by NVM is Northern Investors Company PLC,
which was launched as a private investment company in 1984 and has
been listed on the London Stock Exchange since April 1990. Over the
period from 1 May 1990 to 1 April 2002 the company achieved a share
price total return to investors of 406% (source: S& P's Micropal,
mid to mid, income reinvested).
As well as managing Northern Investors Company, Northern Venture
Managers is an active operator in the expanding Venture Capital Trust
(VCT) market and has to date raised over £100 million from VCT
investors. NVM's current VCT issue is Northern 3 VCT, a new generalist
VCT, which is aiming to raise up to £25 million in the 2001/02 and
2002/03 tax years.
Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd (CBT)
Department of Pharmacology
Tennis Court Road
Cambridge, Cambs
CB1 3AW
UK
Email: sandee.thong@camb-biotech.com
FAX = 01223 334052
Phone = 01223 334052
