VaccIne Products
NATURE OF BUSINESS | Vaccine Products |
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT | Product development and testing |
INVESTMENT BEING SOUGHT | £1m of a £5m package |
20% EIS TAX RELIEF POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE | Yes |
PREPARED TO HAVE MULTIPLE INVESTORS | Yes (Syndicate to be created on request) |
INVEST ALONGSIDE VENTURE CAPITAL FUND | Yes (Angel-VC Fund co-investment is expected) |
EQUITY STAKE | Negotiable |
INVESTOR PARTICIPATION | Non-exec or part-time |
MANAGERIAL SKILLS SOUGHT | Financial. Strategic. |
LOCATION | Currently based in West Midlands |
The company specialises in bringing vaccines for worldwide infections to the stage of completion of efficacy trials, when they are licensed to third parties for final tests, manufacture and sale. The Board and the management team have many years experience of research in vaccines and vaccine development, together with experience of the growth and funding of early stage fast growth companies to Stock Exchange listing.
The first product is a Staphylococcus aureus vaccine that targets the high costs and deaths from Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI), particularly Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Theirs is an innovative "whole organism" vaccine, for which the company is the owner of the patent for the preparation method.
These infections are mostly hospital-acquired, but worryingly they are becoming increasingly community-acquired. They are at present estimated to cost health organisations $4.5 bn p.a. in the US and £1bn p.a. in the UK.
Significantly, this vaccine is aimed at prevention, and thereby at cutting costs in the healthcare sector. It will be given to patients expecting to be hospitalised, pre-surgery and renal patients, and to recipients of long-term care. The vaccine will also target the carriage of the virus, especially in healthcare workers.
The Company now seeks funding to advance pre-efficacy studies. Reflecting the Board's experience, an exit route for investors will be provided through a public listing in 2008/9 or 2010 that will enable the Company to fund further studies and the development of other vaccines.
Further information: Harry Stott, University of Warwick Science Park Limited
024 7632 3123 or capital@uwsp.co.uk
Investment in new business carries high risks as well as the possibility of high rewards. It is highly speculative and potential investors should be aware that no established market exists for the trading of shares in private companies. Before investing in a project about which information is given, potential investors are strongly advised to take advice from a person authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA") who specialises in advising on investments of this kind. The University of Warwick Science Park Limited ("UWSP") is not authorised to arrange transactions or circulate offer documents under FSMA and cannot advise on the merits or risks of investment.
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