Portfolio news - The Vaccine Group raises £680,000

RNS Reach

AIM: FIPP

20 January 2020

Frontier IP Group plc

("Frontier IP" or the "Group")

Portfolio news - The Vaccine Group raises £680,000 to accelerate development of novel vaccine technology

Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising university intellectual property, today announces that portfolio company The Vaccine Group Limited ("the Company" or "TVG") has raised £680,000 through its first equity funding round.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate development and expand the range of its novel animal vaccine technology. Targeted diseases currently fall into two broad areas: zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola, bird flus and SARs, that jump from animals to animals, including humans; and diseases, such as African swine fever and bovine tuberculosis, which impact economically important livestock. The division between the two varies around the world: bovine tuberculosis is a direct human health threat in many lower and middle countries ("LMICs").

The fundraising values the University of Plymouth spin out at £9.5 million, with Frontier IP's 17 per cent equity stake valued at £1.6 million. This value was reflected in Frontier IP's results at 30 June 2019, announced on 6 November 2019.

TVG's vaccines are based on benign forms of herpesviruses, a group of viruses that are found in  all animals, including humans. They are created by inserting a non-infectious region of DNA from the pathogen being targeted into the herpesvirus. This vaccine then stimulates an immune response against the disease when delivered into the animal.

The UK, US and Chinese governments have provided grant funding of more than £9 million to programmes involving TVG. They include projects to tackle:

·    Ebola and Lassa fever, funded by the US Department of Defense

·    Streptococcus suis, an emerging zoonotic disease in pigs that can be fatal to humans, funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and the Chinese government; and

·    Bovine mastitis, funded by the global bacterial vaccine network Bactivac.

The Company is also developing vaccines to combat:

·    African Swine Fever Virus, a disease currently having a devastating impact on the swine herd in many parts of the world, particularly China; and

·    Bovine tuberculosis, seen as a major animal health threat in the UK and to human health in LMICs.

TVG Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Associate Professor Dr Michael Jarvis, said: "This initial round of equity funding provides an exciting opportunity to apply this novel vaccine platform towards additional livestock pathogens and deadly zoonotic diseases in humans. Given the much shorter time to market, vaccines designed to interrupt emergence of zoonotic diseases in animals before they spread to humans is becoming regarded as a quicker and more cost-effective way to protect human health."

Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, Neil Crabb, said: "TVG's novel technology has huge potential to address some of the most pressing global health challenges we are facing today. The World Health Organisation has repeatedly warned about the pandemic threat from zoonotic diseases. Vaccines also have a critical role to play in protecting people from antibiotic resistant bacteria. We're delighted the Company has successfully completed its first funding round and would like to thank investors for their support."

ENQUIRIES

ABOUT FRONTIER IP

Frontier IP unites science and commerce 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.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH

The University of Plymouth is renowned for high quality, internationally-leading education, research and innovation.

With a mission to Advance Knowledge and Transform Lives, Plymouth is a *top 50 research university with clusters of world class research across a wide range of disciplines including marine science and engineering, medicine, robotics and psychology. A three-time winner of the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, the University of Plymouth continues to grow in stature and reputation.

It has a strong track record for teaching and learning excellence and has one of the highest numbers of National Teaching Fellows of any UK university. With over 19,000  students, and a further 9,500 studying for a Plymouth degree at partner institutions in the UK and around the world, and over 130,000 alumni pursuing their chosen careers globally, it has a growing global presence. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk

*Research Fortnight Research Power League Table 2014.

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