NetScientific acquires 100% of portfolio company

RNS Number : 2510C

NetScientific PLC

16 October 2020

 

NetScientific plc

("NetScientific" or the "Company")

NetScientific acquires 100% control of portfolio company ProAxsis Limited

London, UK - 16 October 2020 - NetScientific plc (AIM:NSCI), the life sciences and technology investment and commercialisation company, announces that it has agreed to acquire the outstanding minority interest of 43.6% of its portfolio company, ProAxsis Limited ("ProAxsis") fromQUBIS Limited and the founders (the "Sellers"), for a cash consideration of £228,532.50. In parallel, the key patent has been assigned by the sellers.

ProAxsis Limited is a commercial-stage diagnostics company, based in Northern Ireland, with a rapidly growing global client list of pharmaceutical companies and academic laboratories. The company has registered a CE Mark for activity-based immunoassays targeting Neutrophil Elastase (NE) and Proteinase 3, as biomarkers of lung infection and inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis. This technology has been translated into a point-of-care test (NEATstik®), to enable ongoing monitoring of active NE levels.

In the year ended 31 December 2019, ProAxsis generated revenues of £734,842 and a loss after taxation for the financial year of £181,082, of which £52,178 was included with non-controlling interests. Its net liabilities as at 31 December 2019 amounted to £2,401,970, of which £1,045,577 was included with non-controlling interests. Following the acquisition, ProAxsis will be fully consolidated within the Group, with no amounts included with non-controlling interests, and operate as a separate subsidiary.

Dr. Ilian Iliev, Chief Executive Officer of NetScientific Plc said: "In line with the Group's Strategic Review and stated plans, ProAxsis is an example of the strong commercialisation potential of spin out companies from UK Universities such as Queen's University Belfast. This provides an early investment realisation opportunity for the company's two co-founders,Professor Lorraine Martin and Professor Brian Walker, while allowing the company to continue and accelerate its growth. In line with NetScientific's pro-active management, increasing our stake in ProAxsis via these agreements will enable us to provide the necessary support required to maximise the company's value and help the company capture synergies within our broader ecosystem in this growing sector.We are delighted that David Moore, the University's Head of Spin Outs and Investments at QUBIS, has agreed to remain on the ProAxsis board of directors for the foreseeable future."

For more information, please contact:

NetScientific 

Ilian Iliev, CEO  Tel: [phone]

WH Ireland (NOMAD, Financial Adviser and Broker)

Chris Fielding / Darshan Patel  Tel: [phone]

About NetScientific

NetScientific is a life sciences and technology investment and commercialisation Group, leveraging trans-Atlantic relationships and global opportunities to deliver shareholder value.

For more information, please visit the website at:   www.NetScientific.net

About ProAxsis

ProAxsis Limited is a commercial-stage diagnostics company, based in Northern Ireland, with a rapidly growing global client list of pharmaceutical companies and academic laboratories. The company has registered a CE Mark for activity-based immunoassays targeting Neutrophil Elastase (NE) and Proteinase 3, as biomarkers of lung infection and inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis. 

This technology has been translated into a point-of-care test (NEATstik®), to enable ongoing monitoring of active NE levels.  Recently published data has shown that measuring active NE levels using NEATstik® enables identification of patients with airway bacterial infection and those patients at highest risk of suffering pulmonary exacerbations over the subsequent 12 months. 

In addition to proteases, the company also has significant expertise in the measurement of other inflammatory biomarkers, including IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha.  Grant-funded R&D funded projects for a variety of targets remain a key area of focus.

Aside from the provision of assays, ProAxsis can offer sample analysis at its purpose-built laboratory facility in Belfast and is currently supporting a number of pharmaceutical company-sponsored Phase I, II and III clinical trials.

For more information, please visit the website at:   www.ProAxsis.com

 

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