Frontier IP announces stake in DiaGen

REACH: non-regulatory announcement*

AIM: FIPP

2 May 2024

Frontier IP Group plc

("Frontier IP" or the "Group")

Portfolio news - Frontier IP announces stake in DiaGen

Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual property, today announces:

·    that the Group holds a 4.26 per cent stake in DiaGen Ai Inc ("DiaGen"), a Canadian company focused on AI-driven protein and peptide design for medical applications

·    and that DiaGen has entered into a Technology Evaluation Agreement with the Group's portfolio company The Vaccine Group ("TVG")

Frontier IP gained a stake in DiaGen, formerly known as Proteic Bioscience Inc, in return for advisory services. DiaGen was founded in 2021 to develop a proprietary AI engine for protein design, drug discovery and diagnostics for health, wellness, longevity, and precision medicine.

This collaboration between DiaGen and TVG will bring together complimentary approaches to developing novel and better vaccines for use in animals. Initial focus will be on broadly-protective vaccine candidates for a disease caused by a virus which mutates frequently, making it harder to develop effective vaccines.

Paolo Lobo, DiaGen President, said: "We are excited to further iterate our proprietary AI capabilities into a new addressable market in the Veterinary sector to optimize the ideal protein structures for expression and immune stimulation to complement TVG's experienced team in advancing their vaccine pipeline." 

TVG Chief Executive Jeremy Salt said: "The partnership with DiaGen will bring strong complementary AI approaches to develop novel and improved vaccines. TVG's herpesviral vector delivery system will be used to deliver optimal antigens designed by DiaGen for expression in animal patients. Initial focus will be on the development of broadly protective vaccine candidates for a disease caused by a highly variable virus. This new partnership with DiaGen represents a significant development in TVG's ability to address key gaps in the veterinary vaccine market."

Frontier IP Chief Executive Neil Crabb said: "We have been working with DiaGen for some time. The Technology Evaluation Agreement with TVG demonstrates the benefits of our clusters approach, where expertise and know how can be shared profitably between companies. I look forward to seeing the successful results of this collaboration."

ENQUIRIES

ABOUT FRONTIER IP

Frontier IP unites science, finance and industry by identifying strong intellectual property and accelerating its development through a range of commercialisation services. A critical part of the Group's work is involving relevant industry partners at an early stage of development to ensure technology meets real world demands and needs.

The Group looks to build and grow a portfolio of equity stakes and licence income by taking an active involvement in spin-out companies, including support for fund raising and collaboration with relevant industry partners at an early stage of development.

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