Investee Company Update: Juvenescence Limited

RNS Number : 2166Z

FastForward Innovations Limited

16 September 2020

 

FastForward Innovations Ltd / AIM: FFWD / Sector: Closed End Investments

16 September 2020

FastForward Innovations Ltd ("FastForward" or, "FFWD")

Investee Company Update: Juvenescence Limited

FastForward Innovations Ltd, the AIM quoted company focusing on making investments in fast growing and industry leading businesses, is pleased to note the following announcement released yesterday concerning investee company Juvenescence Limited ('Juvenescence'). FastForward has a circa 0.63% interest in the issued stock of Juvenescence.

The announcement is set out below without material changes or adjustments.

Juvenescence Announces Licensing Agreement with Evgen Pharma plc

DOUGLAS, Isle of Man--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Juvenescence Limited ("Juvenescence"), a life sciences company focused on modifying aging and increasing human healthspan, announced today a partnership with Evgen Pharma plc to license its sulforaphane stabilization technology for use in several non-pharmaceutical applications led by its JuvLife division. JuvLife will deploy Evgen's Sulforadex^® stabilization technology to create and manufacture a nutritional health supplement containing a defined and stable dose of sulforaphane, derived from natural sources.

Juvenescence is based on a new understanding of the underlying biological causes of aging, creating evidence-based and science-backed therapies. It is focused on increasing how long people live in health by preventing the diseases of aging in the first place. JuvLife, one of several divisions within Juvenescence, is committed to be the trusted source of scientifically proven, branded health supplements and medical foods that help increase human healthspan and overall quality of life. The Juvenescence team includes highly experienced drug developers, entrepreneurs, marketers, and investors with a significant history of success in the pharmaceutical and consumer health sectors.

Colin Watts, Chief Executive Officer of JuvLife, said:  "We are pleased to reach an agreement with Evgen to leverage their scientific technology and expertise to create a differentiated and innovative new product for the global consumer nutritional health market. Sulforaphane is a well-studied natural metabolite derived from cruciferous vegetables that has been shown to activate NRF2 and act as a powerful inducer of the native antioxidant response, helping the body scavenge toxic metabolites and reducing markers of inflammation. In this agreement, we are licensing Evgen's proprietary technology for the natural extraction and stabilisation of sulforaphane in a potent and cost-advantaged form that we believe is superior to all other sources currently commercially available. Juvenescence has built a reputation as a broad-based healthcare company in the longevity space through strong partnerships with scientific leaders in their specific areas and we are delighted to have such a partner in Evgen.''

The license is for exclusive rights to leverage certain patents and know-how for all non-pharmaceutical applications in the United States, with options for the other major markets namely, Europe, Asia and Rest of World. Evgen will receive upfront and milestone payments of up to $10.5m, and in addition, royalties on sales of the commercialized product.

Barry Clare, Executive Chairman of Evgen, said:  "This deal is a strong demonstration of the broad potential for our sulforaphane platform and achieves monetization in an area which is outside our focus of therapeutic development in the NRF2 and STAT3 pathways. Juvenescence has a science-driven approach to nutritional health supplements and brings in-depth experience in this sector. We are delighted to have them as a partner to bring the power of the sulforaphane platform to life in a non-pharmaceutical sector."

About Evgen Pharma plc

Evgen Pharma is a clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane based medicines for the treatment of multiple diseases.   The Company's core technology platform is Sulforadex^®, a method for synthesising and stabilising the naturally occurring compound sulforaphane and novel proprietary analogues based on sulforaphane.   The lead product, SFX-01, is a patented composition of synthetic sulforaphane and alpha-cyclodextrin.

For further information, please visit:   www.evgen.com

About Juvenescence Ltd.

Juvenescence Ltd. is a life sciences company developing therapies to modify aging - increasing human health span and longevity. It was founded by Jim Mellon, Dr. Greg Bailey and Dr. Declan Doogan. The Juvenescence team are highly experienced drug developers, entrepreneurs and investors with a significant history of success in the pharmaceutical and consumer health sectors. Juvenescence will create, partner with or invest in new companies with longevity-related therapeutics, by in-licensing compounds from academia and industry, or forming joint ventures to develop therapeutics for longevity. Juvenescence believes that recent advances in science have greatly improved our understanding of the biology of aging and seeks to develop therapeutics with the possibility of slowing, halting or potentially reversing elements of aging.

For further information, please visit:  www.juvlabs.com

ENDS

For further information on the Company please visit www.fstfwd.co   or contact:

Ed McDermott / Lance de Jersey	FastForward Innovations Ltd	Email: [e-mail]
James Biddle / Roland Cornish	Beaumont Cornish Limited, Nomad	Tel: [phone]
Jeremy King	Optiva Securities Limited, Broker	Tel: [phone]
Isabel de Salis / Beth Melluish	St Brides Partners Ltd, Financial PR	Tel: [phone]

Notes

FastForward Innovations is an AIM quoted investment company focused primarily on disruptive high growth life sciences and technology businesses particularly within the medical cannabis arena. The Company's strategy is to identify early stage opportunities that have an upcoming investment catalyst and grow its portfolio in terms of value whilst limiting the number of investee companies to a level where relevant time can be devoted to each.

 

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