PolyTherics and Antitope Combine to Create Leading Provider of Solutions to Enable the Development of Better Biopharmaceuticals

LONDON and CAMBRIDGE, England, July 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

PolyTherics receives new investment to accelerate growth

PolyTherics Limited ("PolyTherics") announces that it has merged with Antitope Limited ("Antitope"), the leading provider of antibody engineering and immunogenicity screening services, to create an enlarged group with an extensive suite of services and technologies to enable the development of better biopharmaceuticals.

PolyTherics is issuing new shares up to an aggregate value of £13.5 million to fund the merger with Antitope and to provide working capital for the enlarged group. Imperial Innovations (AIM: IVO) led the investment and brought in new investor Invesco Perpetual with further funds provided by Mercia Fund Management and Advantage Enterprise & Innovation Fund.

The enlarged PolyTherics group will leverage its combined portfolio of proprietary and complementary technologies and services to address key needs in biopharmaceutical development. The combined portfolio will include conjugation technologies to produce more stable and homogeneous antibody drug conjugates, technologies to optimise the pharmacokinetics of biologics, technologies for immunogenicity screening, technologies to re-engineer antibodies and proteins to reduce their immunogenicity, and cell line development technologies. The group has a strong client base in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, including many of the world's top companies.

Dr John Burt will continue as CEO of PolyTherics and Antitope will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the PolyTherics group. Dr Matthew Baker will continue as Chief Scientific Officer for Antitope and the company will retain its base, management and operational structure at the Babraham Research Campus, near Cambridge.    

The expanded offering will provide the PolyTherics group with a broad technology platform for growth and a solid financial base with sustainable revenue streams over the short-, medium- and longer-term. Growing revenues are derived from the services offered by Antitope and feasibility studies undertaken by PolyTherics and from pre-defined milestone payments under licence agreements for the group's conjugation and de-immunisation technologies. These licences also have the potential to provide future royalties on a portfolio of products which utilise the group's proprietary technologies.

Dr John Burt, CEO of PolyTherics, said: "The combination of PolyTherics and Antitope is a significant strategic step, immediately broadening our business and accelerating our growth. We look forward to building PolyTherics into a leading global provider of technologies that enable the development of better biopharmaceuticals."

Dr Matthew Baker, CEO and CSO of Antitope, said: "The combination of Antitope with PolyTherics provides an excellent opportunity for us to expand and grow our offering to our existing partners. The combined company will have critical mass in terms of technologies, skills and resources and will enable us to leverage the full potential of our antibody engineering and deimmunisation platforms. We are delighted to become part of the PolyTherics group and believe this move will enable us to support growing demand for our technologies from the global biopharma industry."

About PolyTherics

PolyTherics provides technology solutions to enable the development of better biopharmaceuticals and offers a portfolio of proprietary and complementary technologies and services to address key needs in biopharmaceutical development.

PolyTherics' portfolio includes proprietary site-specific conjugation technologies and novel polymers for optimising the therapeutic properties of biopharmaceuticals, including ThioBridge™ for more stable and homogeneous antibody drug conjugates, TheraPEG™, CyPEG™, HiPEG™ and PolyPEG™ for optimisation of the pharmacokinetics of biologics  and GlycoPol™ for targeted delivery.

The PolyTherics group will provide immunogenicity testing, antibody humanisation and protein re-engineering technologies through its Antitope subsidiary, including EpiScreen™, Composite Human Antibody™, Composite Protein™ and Composite CHO™. These technologies have been used to develop several therapeutic antibody candidates that are advancing through clinical trials. The group provides its services and technologies to an international client base that includes many of the world's leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

PolyTherics is a privately owned UK company backed by institutional investors including Imperial Innovations (AIM: IVO), Invesco Perpetual, Mercia Fund Management, Advantage Enterprise & Innovation Fund (managed by Catapult Venture Partners), ProVen Health, Oxford Technology VCTs and high net worth individual's funds managed by Longbow Capital. The Company has dedicated facilities in London, Cambridge and Coventry, UK.

http://www.polytherics.com

http://www.antitope.co.uk

For more information contact:

John Burt, PolyTherics
Tel.: +44(0)20-7691-3580
Email: [email protected]

Matthew Baker, Antitope
Tel.: +44(0)1223-496190
Email:  [email protected]

Mark Swallow, Sita Shah, Chris Gardner
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel.: +44(0)20-7282-2948/1052/2995
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE PolyTherics