IP2IPO acquires stake in ReOx
The intellectual property subsidiary of Evolution Group,IP2IPO, has acquired a stake in ReOx.
The intellectual property subsidiary of Evolution Group,IP2IPO, has acquired a stake in ReOx.
ReOx's technology is based on the biological response to a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) and in particular the mechanism by which the master regulator, hypoxia-inducible factor (HLF), is activated. This technology is the culmination of over 10 years of pioneering research into this field carried out by four leading professors at the University of Oxford (Prof's Ratcliffe, Pugh, Maxwell and Schofield). In May 2002, Professor Ratcliffe was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society for the 'far reaching importance' of his work in this area and its potential for new treatments of major diseases.
The objective of the company is to build on the primary research of the academics to develop novel therapies for a huge range of diseases - from heart disease to stroke - in which it could be beneficial to regulate the body's response to oxygen.
ReOx has raised £2m, including £180,000 invested by Oxford's University Challenge Seed Fund, through a placing of new shares by Evolution Beeson Gregory, the investment banking arm of the Evolution Group. ReOx will use these funds to continue drug discovery programmes, in particular validating drug targets using proprietary IP as well as designing, screening and testing potential new drugs.
According to Dr Steve Lee, IP2IPO's director of Life Sciences, a fortuitous meeting of minds has given ReOx a leadership edge: 'It was just chance that one of the leading HIF medical research teams in the world was working in the same town as a chemist with world-leading expertise in designing drugs that act against their particular enzymes. The team has been operating like a biotech company research team for over three years.'
Isis innovation, the University of Oxford's technology transfer company, oversaw the formation of ReOx. Tom Hockaday, Isis Innovation's executive director said: 'ReOx has been formed by some of the UK's foremost scientists who have consistently led the field in this very exciting area for novel therapeutic treatments. This is a tremendously exciting commercial opportunity that demonstrates the power of discovery when chemistry and biology combine.'