Proximagen Impact Day

IP2IPO Group PLC
29 March 2005



For immediate release                                   29 March 2005





                                IP2IPO GROUP PLC



  PROXIMAGEN NEUROSCIENCE PLC ANNOUNCES ITS SUCCESSFUL £14.5M FUNDRAISING AND
                               ADMISSION TO AIM



IP2IPO Group plc (AIM: IPO) ('IP2IPO'), the intellectual property company that
commercialises university technology, is pleased to announce that Proximagen
Neuroscience plc ('Proximagen'), a spin-out company from King's College London
focused on neurodegenerative disease, has today published an admission document
for the admission of its ordinary shares to AiM. The placing raised £14.5
million before expenses, including £13.5 million for Proximagen, at a placing
price of 148p per share (the 'Placing Price').  Proximagen's capitalisation at
the Placing Price will be £29.7 million. It is expected that dealings in the
ordinary shares will commence on 31 March 2005.



On admission, IP2IPO will own 4,704,000 shares in Proximagen representing 23.5%
of Proximagen's share capital. At the Placing Price, IP2IPO's shares in
Proximagen are worth £6,961,920.


The press release issued today by Proximagen follows:


For immediate release                                             29 March 2005






                            PROXIMAGEN NEUROSCIENCE PLC

                        ('Proximagen' or 'the Company')



               SUCCESSFUL £14.5M FUNDRAISING AND ADMISSION TO AIM



Proximagen Neuroscience plc, the drug discovery and development company focused
on neurodegenerative disease, has today published an admission document for the
admission of its ordinary shares to AiM.  The placing raised £14.5 million at a
Placing Price of 148p per share (the 'Placing Price').  Proximagen's
capitalisation at the Placing Price will be £29.7 million. It is expected that
dealings in the ordinary shares will commence on 31 March 2005.





Highlights of the Placing and AiM Admission



•        Proximagen was founded in November 2003 by Professor Peter Jenner and
         King's College London, leveraging more than 25 years of innovative
         neurodegenerative research

•        Proximagen has a pipeline with four compounds in development

•        £13.5 million (£12.6 million net of expenses) has been raised for
         Proximagen via a placing at the price of 148 pence per share

•        £1.0 million (before expenses) was raised for King's College.  King's
         College will hold 11% of the enlarged share capital of Proximagen

•        On admission the market capitalisation of Proximagen at the placing
         price will be £29.7 million

•        The proceeds of the placing will be used to finance the Company's drug
         development programmes in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease

•        Dealings in Proximagen's ordinary shares are expected to commence on
         AiM on 31 March 2005

•        KBC Peel Hunt Ltd is the Company's nominated adviser and broker





Commenting on the AiM Admission, Kenneth Mulvany, Proximagen's Chief Executive
Officer, said: 'We have been delighted by the strong demand for shares in the
Company.  The money we have raised will allow the team to progress Proximagen's
drug development programmes in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.  We
have an extremely exciting future ahead of us.'





For further information please contact:


Proximagen Neuroscience plc                                        020 7848 6011

Kenneth Mulvany, Chief Executive Officer

KBC Peel Hunt Ltd                                                  020 7418 8900

Capel Irwin

Buchanan Communications                                            020 7466 5000

Tim Anderson, Mark Court, Mary-Jane Johnson





Notes for editors



Information about Proximagen



Background to the therapeutic area:

The Group's business is drug discovery and development and is primarily focused
on the identification and subsequent out-licensing of novel therapeutics which
improve the quality of life of patients suffering from neurodegenerative
diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.



Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease are the two most common
neurodegenerative diseases.  In 2002 Alzheimer's disease was the sixth most
frequent cause of death for those above the age of 65 in the US.  Current
treatments for Alzheimer's only offer symptomatic relief and mainly only for the
early stages of the disease.



The incidence of Parkinson's disease is 300,000 new patients annually worldwide.
  There is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease and no treatment has been
shown to slow or stop the progression of the disease.



The business opportunity:

The Directors believe that the neurodegenerative drugs market, as a result of
its size and existing therapeutic needs, represents a significant opportunity
for the Group. Global annual sales of current pharmaceutical products for
Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are alone estimated to be in excess
of US$4 billion.



The life expectancy of the general population is increasing such that the
proportion of the world population aged over 60 is forecast by the World Health
Organisation to double between 2000 and 2050. This suggests that the number of
individuals suffering from age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as
Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, will also increase.



Proximagen seeks to commercialise a pipeline of compounds to address the medical
needs of patients with neurodegenerative disease. This will be accomplished
through the Group's internal research programmes and in-licence programmes that
will be carefully selected from the wider range of research projects available
to the Group.



The business:

Proximagen Limited was founded by Professor Peter Jenner in conjunction with
King's College in November 2003 to draw upon over 25 years of pre-eminent
neurodegenerative research. The Group's primary objective is to develop and
commercialise a pipeline of compounds to address the medical needs of patients
with neurodegenerative disease.



The Group has already made significant progress towards implementing this
business model by commencing three proprietary programmes in the field of
neurodegenerative disease. The Group will seek to out-license its own internal
research and development programmes as well as commercialise carefully selected
in-licensed and collaborative programmes.



Business model:

The Group's business model is based upon the following key principles:



Core expertise in neurodegenerative disease:

The Group's scientific team consists of recognised leaders in neuroscience and
related drug development, medicinal chemistry and clinical expertise. Members of
the team have demonstrated their ability to commercialise their R&D through the
launch of a number of new drugs on to the market. The Directors believe that
this expertise will significantly enhance the success of the Group's drug
development programme and ultimately make registration of the Group's drug
candidates more likely.



Focus on development:

The Group's business model is focused on pre-clinical development and early
clinical trials of novel drug candidates in the field of neurodegenerative
disease. The Group's aim is to develop a risk-weighted portfolio of development
programmes which the Directors believe will generate drug candidates, the IPR to
which can be out-licensed at an early stage up to and including Phase II (proof
of concept) rather than the Group committing significant capital resources to
take such drug candidates to late-stage clinical trials.



Diversified risk business model:

The Group intends to minimise the risk inherent in drug discovery by building
its pipeline of compounds in three different ways: 1) in-house R&D, 2)
in-licensing and 3) through collaborations with academic institutions,
biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.



Proximagen Board of Directors:

Bruce Campbell, Non-Executive Chairman & Director of Drug Development

Kenneth Mulvany, Chief Executive Officer

Professor Peter Jenner, Non-Executive and Chief Scientific Officer

Nigel Whittle, Non-Executive Director and Programme Development Consultant

George Murlewski, Non-Executive Director





                                      ENDS




For more information please contact:

IP2IPO Group plc
David Norwood, Chief Executive Officer                      020 7067 1651

Proximagen Neuroscience plc
Kenneth Mulvany, Chief Executive Officer                    020 7848 6011

KBC Peel Hunt Ltd
Capel Irwin                                                 020 7418 8900

Buchanan Communications
Tim Anderson/Mark Court/Mary-Jane Johnson                   020 7466 5000



Notes for editors:



About IP2IPO



IP2IPO is an intellectual property (IP) company that specialises in
commercialising university technology. The Company was founded in 2001 and
listed on AIM 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
future 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 an initial 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
committed to invest £1.15m in Amaethon Limited in return for a one third 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 July 2004, IP2IPO acquired a strategic 20% stake in Techtran Group Limited
('Techtran'), acquiring the remaining 80% stake in January 2005. Techtran has a
long-term technology commercialisation contract with the University of Leeds.
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.



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.



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange