SkinBioTherapeutics plc
SkinBioTherapeutics signs MTA (material transfer agreement) with global consumer goods company
Manchester, UK - 03 April 2018 - SkinBioTherapeutics plc (AIM: SBTX, the "Company"), a life science company focused on skin health, announces the signing of an MTA relating to its proprietary SkinBiotix® technology with a major, global consumer goods company.
The Company has been speaking to a range of commercial partners interested in evaluating its SkinBiotix® technology ahead of its human studies which are scheduled to commence later this year.
Having shared the initial pre-clinical data with a number of interested parties, one potential partner to date has progressed to an MTA, granting it access to the SkinBiotix® technology. An MTA is a standard agreement governing the transfer of material between parties enabling the recipient to assess the technology and, where the outcome is successful, can be a precursor to future commercial discussions.
The MTA provides for SkinBioTherapeutics to share a sample of its material against which the third party will conduct its own in-house assessment. Whilst at this stage there can be no certainty that discussions will progress further than the initial sharing of the technology, the Company is encouraged by the level of interest that has been shown in its pre-clinical data.
The Company is initially targeting cosmetic skin care and in this market SkinBioTherapeutics' skin microbiome technology is unusual in that its properties are supported by scientific data. These demonstrate its ability to improve the skin barrier, offer protection from infection and enhance skin repair. These characteristics support potential opportunities for the Company in cosmetics, anti-infectives and dermatological indications (e.g. eczema).
Most recently, the Company reported good results in a variety of toxicity studies and the development of its formulation as a gel, cream and lotion which will be tested to determine the best concentration and application for its humans studies.
Dr Cath O'Neill, CEO of SkinBioTherapeutics, commented:
"Whilst these are early discussions, we are encouraged that a company of this calibre wants to look at our technology more closely through an MTA. Even at this early stage of its development, we are pleased to see that SkinBiotix® is starting to generate a buzz in the skin care industry."
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 and has been arranged for release by Doug Quinn, CFO of the Company.
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For more information, please contact:
SkinBioTherapeutics plc Dr. Cath O'Neill, CEO Doug Quinn, CFO |
Tel: +44 (0) 161 468 2760 |
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated Adviser) Tony Rawlinson / Richard Nash |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880 |
Turner Pope Investments (Joint Broker) Ben Turner / James Pope Northland Capital Partners (Joint Broker) John Howes / Tom Price |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3621 4120 Tel: +44 (0) 20 3861 6625 |
Instinctif Partners (Media Relations) Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Deborah Bell |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020 [email protected] |
Notes to Editors
About SkinBioTherapeutics plc
SkinBioTherapeutics is a life science company focused on skin health. The Company's proprietary platform technology, SkinBiotix®, is based upon discoveries made by CEO Dr. Catherine O'Neill and Professor Andrew McBain.
SkinBioTherapeutics' platform applies research discoveries made on the activities of lysates derived from probiotic bacteria when applied to the skin. The Company has shown that the SkinBiotix® platform can improve the barrier effect of skin models, protect skin models from infection and repair skin models. Proof of principle studies have shown that the SkinBiotix® platform has beneficial attributes applicable to each of these areas.
SkinBioTherapeutics received seed funding from the Tech Transfer office of the University of Manchester for the discovery of SkinBiotix®. The platform was subsequently spun out of the University of Manchester in March 2016 and was funded by OptiBiotix (AIM: OPTI).
The Company joined AIM in April 2017 concurrent with raising £4.5 million from a placing of new ordinary shares.
The Company is based in Manchester, UK. For more information, visit www.skinbiotherapeutics.com.
