Oxford NanoLabs

IP2IPO Group PLC
23 May 2005


For immediate release                                 23 May 2005

                               IP2IPO GROUP PLC
                          ('IP2IPO' or 'the Company')

                  Oxford NanoLabs receives funding from IP2IPO

IP2IPO Group plc (AIM: IPO) is pleased to announce that it has acquired a stake
of 44.3% in Oxford NanoLabs Limited ('ONL'), a spin-out company from the
Chemistry Department at the University of Oxford.

ONL is developing breakthrough technology for biosensing.  Its 'NanoPore'
technology is based on using protein pores for the highly sensitive detection of
a range of medically important molecules.  ONL's objective is to develop a
series of products from its platform technology, initially hand-held diagnostic
devices for medical testing with longer-term applications in
counter-bioterrorism and gene sequencing.

ONL's underlying science has been developed in the research groups of Professor
Hagan Bayley, who previously was based at Texas A & M University and
subsequently became Professor of Chemical Biology at the Chemistry Department in
Oxford in 2003.  Professor Bayley is one of the world's leading experts in
membrane protein engineering and stochastic sensing.

The company has appointed Dr Gordon Sanghera as Chief Executive Officer.  After
a spell in academia, Dr Sanghera began his commercial career at Medisense, an
Oxford-based company that was sold to Abbot Laboratories in 1996 for £876m. At
Medisense, Dr Sanghera played a key role in the development of the company's
glucose strip product, one of the first hand-held devices to be developed for
diabetic testing. Following the acquisition of Medisense, Dr Sanghera became
research director and later worldwide marketing director at Abbot Laboratories
where he built up a strong track record for delivering novel diagnostic products
to the market.

IP2IPO's stake in ONL is comprised of a 5.3% interest received as a result of
IP2IPO's partnership formed in December 2000 with the University of Oxford's
Chemistry Department and an interest of 39% acquired as a result of a direct
investment of £487,500. The formation of ONL was assisted by ISIS Innovation,
the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford, which has licensed
Oxford IP to the company.

Commenting on today's announcement, Dr Sanghera, Chief Executive Officer of ONL,
said: 'The NanoPore technology has the potential to revolutionise the diagnostic
world.  Professor Bayley has developed a broad platform with the potential to
address numerous unmet needs in medical diagnostics. The Medisense experience
shows just how valuable a breakthrough in point of care medical diagnostics can
become and I am delighted to be part of such an exciting opportunity.'



For more information please contact:

IP2IPO
David Norwood, Chief Executive Officer            020 7489 5200

Oxford NanoLabs
Gordon Sanghera                                   07768 783 089

Buchanan Communications
Mark Court, Mary-Jane Johnson                     020 7466 5000


Notes for editors

IP2IPO is an intellectual property (IP) company that specialises in
commercialising university technology. The Company was founded in 2001 and
listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange plc in October 2003.
IP2IPO's first partnership was with the University of Oxford. In return for an
investment of £20 million, IP2IPO has acquired 50 per cent of the University of
Oxford's equity in spin-out companies and technology licenses based on
intellectual property created at the Chemistry Department until 2015. In
November 2003, IP2IPO created a £5 million seed capital fund for investing in
spin-out companies across the University of Oxford, not just those originating
within the Chemistry Department.

In March 2002, IP2IPO entered into a second long-term partnership with the
University of Southampton. Under the terms of this partnership, IP2IPO is
committed to working with the University of Southampton in the identification
and facilitation of spin-out companies from across the University of Southampton
and to investing £5 million in early-stage University of Southampton spin-out
companies over a four year period in return for equity stakes in those
companies. In addition, IP2IPO also received a 20 per cent stake in Southampton
Asset Management Limited, a company that has been formed to hold the
University's equity stakes in its spin-out companies. The partnership has a term
of at least 25 years.

IP2IPO entered into its third long-term partnership in May 2003 with King's
College London. IP2IPO will work with King's College London to help identify and
progress commercialisation opportunities as well as invest £5 million in seed
capital in spin-out companies from King's College London over a five year period
in return for equity stakes in those companies. In addition, IP2IPO will receive
20 per cent of King's College London's equity in spin-out companies and
technology licenses. The partnership has a term of 25 years.

In October 2003, IP2IPO announced a fourth partnership with the Centre for Novel
Agricultural Products ('CNAP'), based at the University of York. CNAP is a
flagship research centre that specialises in plant and microbial gene discovery.
Under the terms of the partnership a new company, Amaethon Limited, has been
created which has the right to commercialise CNAP's IP for 25 years. IP2IPO has
invested £1.15m in Amaethon Limited in return for a 40% equity stake in Amaethon
Limited (the remaining equity being owned by the University of York) and will
also invest in the spin-out companies based on CNAP's IP which Amaethon Limited
creates.

In June 2004, IP2IPO acquired Top Technology Ventures Limited, an investment
adviser to early stage technology funds. This combines IP2IPO's expertise in the
creation of new ventures based on world leading university IP with Top
Technology's focus on making early stage venture capital investments.

In January 2005, IP2IPO acquired Techtran, a company set up in 2002 to
commercialise university intellectual property under a long-term technology
commercialisation contract with the University of Leeds. Under the terms of the
contract Techtran receives a significant (30%) interest in spin-out companies
created and technology licences negotiated, in return for the provision of
technology transfer services to the University.

To date, 4 spin-out companies from the IP2IPO portfolio have listed on the AIM
Market of the London Stock Exchange plc: Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping plc,
Synairgen plc, VASTox plc and Proximagen Neuroscience plc.

In May 2005, IP2IPO completed a placing of shares, raising a further £13.7
million to enable the launch of a new subsidiary company - LifeUK. LifeUK will
in-license life science intellectual property created by medical researchers at
universities with which IP2IPO already has partnerships, other universities in
the UK and similar academic and charitable research institutions. Its objective
is to further develop the intellectual property which it in-licenses with a view
to creating substantial value either by subsequently licensing these development
programmes to the pharmaceutical industry or via the creation of new ventures.

For more information please visit www.ip2ipo.com


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            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange