SENEXIS TO DEVELOP NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR AGEING-RELATED DISEASES

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SENEXIS TO DEVELOP NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR AGEING-RELATED DISEASES
07 October 2006 - BTG

BTG plc, the global technology commercialisation company, today announced an investment in Senexis Limited, a new biotechnology company focusing on the development of pharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of ageing-related diseases caused by a common pathogenic process called amyloidosis. Senexis Limited has raised £1.4 million of start-up financing from BTG and Catalyst BioMedica Limited, and will be based at The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

Senexis Limited was founded by Kelvin Stott (formerly of Cambridge University and McKinsey) and Andrew Doig (a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biomolecular Sciences at UMIST), who together discovered a novel class of potent inhibitors that can effectively block and reverse the key step in this process of protein/peptide aggregation. Amyloidosis is now believed to be fundamental to the pathology of at least 20 currently incurable ageing-related diseases, including type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as Huntington’s disease, CJD/BSE and Motor Neurone Disease.

Commenting on the deal, Anthony Lando, Chief Operating Officer of BTG, said: “BTG has worked closely with Senexis’ founders over the past six months. We are committed to providing ongoing support to help the company realise the full potential of its exciting technology for the diagnosis and treatment of ageing-related diseases.”

Kelvin Stott, Senexis’ Chief Scientific Officer, commented: “We are thrilled to have secured funding from BTG and Catalyst Biomedica. Amyloid-related diseases affect over 50 million people in the developed world, costing approximately $500 billion a year. I am confident that our technology has the potential to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.”

Andrew Doig, Research Director at Senexis, added: “Our initial results look very promising. Our lead compounds appear to inhibit and reverse the pathogenic process associated with these diseases very effectively.”

Senexis’ operations will be based at UMIST, where the university’s technology transfer company, UMIST Ventures Limited, was closely involved in forming the company. Paul McCubbin of BTG will join the Board of Senexis and Mark Treherne (formerly of Pfizer, Cambridge Drug Discovery and BioFocus) will be Chief Executive Officer. Sharon Spencer of Catalyst BioMedica will act as observer on the Board.

http://www.btgplc.com

About: BTG
BTG is an intellectual property and technology commercialisation company that operates internationally. BTG creates value by investing in intellectual property and technology development, and in early stage ventures. We realise value through technology licensing, patent assertion and sale of equity investments. Through a multidisciplinary approach, we apply intellectual property and commercial expertise, together with specialist skills in science and technology, to create major product opportunities in the health and high tech sectors. BTG has commercialised important innovations, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Multilevel Cell Memory, Campath (alemtuzumab), the first monoclonal antibody treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and recombinant Factor IX blood clotting protein. BTG operates through wholly owned subsidiaries BTG International Ltd and BTG International Inc in the UK and USA, respectively.

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