Amgen invests £50m in Oxford Nanopore Technologies

RNS Number : 4862E
IP Group PLC
18 October 2018
 

FOR RELEASE ON

18 October 2018

 

IP Group plc - Amgen invests £50m in Oxford Nanopore Technologies

 

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Group"), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, notes that Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has announced an equity investment of £50 million into portfolio company Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited ("Oxford Nanopore" or "the Company").

 

The investment will be effected through the purchase of £50 million of existing ordinary shares in Oxford Nanopore at the same price as the Company's primary £100 million fundraising announced in March 2018 that saw new investment from GIC (Singapore), China Construction Bank International (CCBI, China) and Hostplus (Australia).

 

Amgen noted that the investment in Oxford Nanopore aligns with its strategic focus on using human genetics to deliver new medicines to patients. Amgen subsidiary deCODE Genetics, a world leader in human genetics, uses Oxford Nanopore's sequencing technologies to conduct genome research, including the identification and validation of new targets.

 

Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group plc, said: "Amgen is a world leader in using genetic data to inform drug discovery so it is encouraging to hear how Oxford Nanopore's technology is helping enable this. This investment is a tremendous validation of nanopore sequencing and reflects the significant progress that has been made by Oxford Nanopore over the last year."

 

Kári Stefánsson, founder of deCODE Genetics, noted that Oxford Nanopore's long-read sequencing capability "creates a window into parts of the genome that have been out of reach, as well as giving us a much better handle on structural variants that confer risk of a wide variety of diseases". He noted that deCODE Genetics has used Oxford Nanopore technology to sequence "several hundred human genomes".

 

IP Group holds an undiluted beneficial stake of 18.3%, valued at £274.1 million, in Oxford Nanopore.

 

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           

+44 (0) 20 7444 0050

+44 (0) 20 7444 0062/+44 (0) 7979 853802

Charlotte Street Partners


Andrew Wilson

+44 (0) 7810 636995

Martha Walsh

+44 (0) 7876 245962

Tom Gillingham

+44 (0) 7741 659021

 

Notes for editors

 

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 subsidiaries IP Capital and Parkwalk Advisors), networks, recruitment and business support. IP Group has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in early-stage to mature businesses across life sciences and technology. IP Group is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

Group holdings in portfolio companies reflect the undiluted beneficial equity interest excluding debt, unless otherwise explicitly stated.

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

 

ENDS


This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
 
END
 
 
NRAFKFDDKBDDBKD

Companies

IP Group (IPO)
UK 100

Latest directors dealings