Glythera Relocates to North East as Part of £2M Funding Round

NEWCASTLE, England, June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Glythera, an emerging biopharmaceutical company specialising in protein/peptide functionalisation and glycosylation, has secured a fundraising round totalling £2M with IP Group, which will be tranched over the next three years.

The company, a spin-out from the University of Bath, has recently established commercial operations at Newcastle's INEX incubator facility, following an initial £600,000 investment split equally between IP Group and its managed fund, the Finance for Business North East Technology Fund. The next two tranches will be of a similar size and are contingent on certain milestones being met.

Glythera's relocation has led to the immediate creation of new research and development positions in the North East of England including the appointment of Dr David Simpson as Chief Operating Officer. David has over 15 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, having held senior technical, managerial and leadership positions centred on the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products destined for worldwide approval. Further growth is anticipated over the next three years in line with the company's commercial and technical needs.

Dr Anthony Baxter, Glythera's Chairman, commented: "We are obviously delighted to close this funding round in what remains a challenging environment. Our ability to do this is testament to the strength of the Glythera technology, combined with the leadership and technical skills of our team."

David added: "Relocating to the North East makes a lot of sense for us, due to the region's strong pedigree in biomanufacturing, giving us the ideal base from which to partner with leading companies and attract a skilled workforce."

Duncan Lowery, Senior Investment Manager at IP Group, commented: "As David has mentioned, the North East has a real strength in biomanufacturing and the fact that Glythera is relocating here demonstrates that the industry continues to develop and expand apace. The technology being developed is highly innovative and could transform the use of vaccines and therapeutics. With a revolutionary product and extremely experienced management team, we're confident that Glythera will hit its targets and continue to build a reputation as a rising star within the pharmaceutical industry."

For more information about Glythera, visit http://www.glythera.com

For more information on the Finance for Business North East Technology Fund, visit: http://www.thenortheasttechnologyfund.com.

About Glythera

Glythera Limited is a biotechnology company specialising in the development of enhanced protein/peptide therapeutics through the use of advanced glycosylation and conjugation technologies. Originally spun-out from the University of Bath, the Company relocated to the Newcastle-upon-Tyne INEX incubator facility in 2012, following investment from the IP Group and the Finance for Business North East Technology Fund. Gylthera's core technologies - Permalink and Permacarb - allow the selective and stable functionalisation and glycosylation of biopharmaceuticals for improved stability, bioavailability and efficacy.

About IP Group

IP Group is a leading UK intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company, developing technology innovations primarily from its research intensive partner universities. The Group offers more than traditional venture capital, providing its companies with access to business building expertise, networks, recruitment and business support.

The Company's portfolio comprises holdings in over 60 companies including Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the DNA sequencing development company, Revolymer, best known for its removable chewing gum and Xeros, which has received many accolades for its revolutionary clothes washing techniques with a much reduced requirement for water.

The portfolio includes early stage to mature businesses and has exposure to five main sectors - Energy & Renewables, Medical Equipment & Supplies, Pharma & Biotech, IT & Communications and Chemicals & Materials. To date, fourteen of the portfolio companies IP Group has backed have listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and one on PLUS Markets.

Founded in 2001, IP Group listed on AIM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. The Group now has long-term partnerships with twelve universities including those under its commercialisation agreement with Fusion IP plc.

For more information, please visit our website at http://www.ipgroupplc.com

About The North East Technology Fund

The North East Technology Fund is a £25m venture capital fund dedicated to investing in technology businesses with outstanding potential which are based in, or are willing to relocate to, the North East of England. The Fund is managed by IP Group plc and is backed by the European Investment Bank and European Regional Development Funds. It is able to co-invest with other institutional, private or corporate investors and at all stages of the business cycle from early stage to mature businesses. Its investment range is from £50,000 to £1.25m.

For more information, please visit http://www.thenortheasttechnologyfund.com.

About Finance for Business North East

Finance for Business North East is a £125m publicly-backed venture capital fund. It will support up to 850 small and medium-sized companies in North East England over the next five years, with the aim of creating more than 5,000 jobs.

The European Investment Bank is committing £62.5m into the fund with £44.25m coming from the European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013. North East Finance, based in Newcastle, manages the fund on a day-to-day basis.

Finance for Business North East is part of the Government's Solutions for Business portfolio of publicly funded help to companies to start, grow and succeed. Solutions for Business makes it easier for companies to get the advice and assistance that they need. More information on Solutions for Business can be found at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/solutions.

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