Creates Microbiotica, Sanger Institute company

RNS Number : 2003S

IP Group PLC

19 December 2016

 

19 December 2016

IP Group plc announces the creation of Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute spin-out company, Microbiotica

Based on ground-breaking research at the Sanger Institute into the role of the human microbiome in disease

Goal is to create the world's leading company focused on microbiome biology and its use in medicine

IP Group co-leads £8m funding round with Cambridge Innovation Capital

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group"), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, is pleased to announce the creation of Microbiotica Ltd ("Microbiotica"), a newly formed spin-out company from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute ("the Sanger Institute") established to commercialise the Sanger Institute's ground-breaking research into the role of the human microbiome in disease.

IP Group is co-leading this investment with Cambridge Innovation Capital plc ("CIC"), a Cambridge-based investor in technology and healthcare companies in which IP Group is a shareholder, with a £4m contribution from each party to provide total initial funding of £8m. This reflects IP Group and CIC's ongoing partnership under which they share information on investment and co-investment opportunities in the Cambridge Cluster.

Recognition of the importance to human health of the trillions of bacteria that reside in the human intestine - known as the gut microbiome - has created major opportunities in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of diseases including cancer, infection and metabolic, neurological and autoimmune disorders. The Sanger Institute team, led by Dr Trevor Lawley, has been at the forefront of this research, having built one of the world's most extensive collections of cultured human gut bacteria with associated genome analysis, along with humanised models for the development of therapeutics based on live bacteria. Microbiotica has been granted unique access to these resources and will use the funding from IP Group and CIC to establish labs within the Wellcome Genome Campus at Hinxton, Cambridge, and to progress multiple live bacteriotherapy programmes into development.

Sam Williams, Head of Biotech at IP Group, said, "We are delighted to be partnering with both CIC and the Sanger Institute to develop what promises to be an exciting new commercial approach to the microbiome. By exploring the fundamentals of gut flora distribution and genetics, Microbiotica has an opportunity to take a lead in understanding how the microbiome can be used to not only develop new therapeutics for a range of diseases, but also how to stratify patients according to their microbial profile, identify links with disease and exploit its full potential for human healthcare. This investment reflects IP Group's approach to new company formation in the biotech sector, backing only the science which promises to bring about revolutionary approaches to human medicine and the teams that can deliver them."

Microbiotica's science will be directed by Dr Lawley, who will be Chief Scientific Officer. The company will be led by Dr Mike Romanos who, as Chief Executive Officer, brings a wealth of experience as a seasoned drug discoverer and entrepreneur in the biotech sector. Dr Romanos previously held senior global roles in GSK and, as CEO, built Crescendo Biologics. Both CIC and IP Group will each appoint a director to the board of Microbiotica.

Mike Romanos, CEO of Microbiotica, said, "It has been a privilege to work with my co-founders to create the concept of Microbiotica as a leading player in microbiome-based therapeutics. We are very excited to be working with IP Group and CIC to now turn the vision into reality as we start to build the company, based at the Wellcome Genome Campus, leveraging the strengths of the Sanger Institute to create new medicines."

For more information, please contact:

IP Group plc	www.ipgroupplc.com
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer Greg Smith, Chief Financial Officer Liz Vaughan-Adams, Communications	[phone] [phone]/[phone]
Charlotte Street Partners
Andrew Wilson	[phone]

Sanger Institute press office                                        [e-mail]

Dr Samantha Wynne, Press Officer                                 [phone]

Notes for editors

About the Sanger Institute's research into the microbiome and its relationship with Microbiotica

The Sanger Institute's microbiome research has been largely conducted within its Host-Microbiotica Interactions Laboratory ("HMIL"), led by Dr Trevor Lawley, in collaboration with the Professor Gordon Dougan research group. The Sanger Institute teams have made significant breakthroughs in the analysis and understanding of the human microbiome, combining an extensive DNA sequencing capability with novel culturing methods to build a first-in-class gut microbiome culture collection and reference genome library. Since 2010, Dr Lawley's group has cultured and sequenced the genome of thousands of bacterial strains from the gut of humans, representing the world's largest culture collection of intestinal bacteria. This has given the group important new insights into the association of these bacteria with a range of diseases. Added to this, the group has developed a leading expertise in humanised models for the development of live bacterial therapeutics and exceptional bioinformatics capability.

Microbiotica will use its access to these resources to gain unparalleled insights into the microbial communities in both healthy and diseased individuals, enabling the identification of specific disease-related bacteria, patient-stratification strategies and novel therapeutics. Microbiotica has also been granted exclusive rights to existing potentially therapeutic bacterial mixes that have shown striking effects in novel models of disease, and which will be progressed into pre-clinical development over the coming year.

About IP Group

IP Group is a leading intellectual property commercialisation company which focuses on evolving great ideas, mainly from its partner universities, into world-changing businesses. The Group has pioneered a unique approach to developing these ideas and the resulting businesses by providing access to business building expertise, capital (through its 100%-owned FCA-authorised subsidiary IP Capital), networks, recruitment and business support. IP Group has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in approximately 80 early-stage to mature businesses across four main sectors -- Biotech, Cleantech, Healthcare and Technology. The Company is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

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

About the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.

For further information please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk

About Cambridge Innovation Capital

Cambridge Innovation Capital ("CIC") combines a unique relationship with the University of Cambridge with deep financial and industry links to invest in rapidly growing intellectual property rich companies in the Cambridge Cluster.

CIC has an unrivalled appreciation for the application of world-leading scientific developments given its position within the Cambridge Cluster. The company is committed to building leading businesses from brilliant technologies - with the support of some of the most influential figures in the sector and a patient capital structure.

For further information, including more details of CIC portfolio companies, see www.cicplc.co.uk

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