Activiomics Ltd - New spin-out from Queen Mary University of London, signs commercial agreement with GSK

13 Apr 2010

Scientists at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London, have developed a novel method of analysing and interpreting cell signalling pathways. This technology enables the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to identify biomarkers and better select new drugs for diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity and diabetes and help reduce their time to market.

This technology is incorporated in Activiomics Ltd, the first spin-out company to have been created from the Institute of Cancer at Barts and The London Medical School. Activiomics today announces it has signed a commercial agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) through its Respiratory Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery (CEDD), in a collaborative effort to investigate inflammatory signalling mechanisms.

Activiomics Ltd is supported by early stage finance from IP Group plc, the intellectual property commercialisation company.

Activiomics partners with Pharma and Biotech using its innovative mass spectrometry-based method to analyse and interpret cell signalling pathway activity, generating high value information for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Errors in cellular information processing are responsible for human disease.

Its unique TIQUAS (Targeted In-depth Quantification of cell Signalling) platform has advantages over existing methods in that it is quantitative, antibody-free, label-free and applicable to any cell or tissue sample. This is of significant benefit in the drug development cycle, aiding clinical trial candidate selection and biomarker discovery, thereby reducing development times.

The company's scientific founders are Dr Pedro Cutillas and Professor Bart Vanhaesebroeck from the Centre for Cell Signalling at the Institute of Cancer. Both have previously conducted research at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd where they initiated their work in proteomics. Professor Vanhaesebroeck is a world leading expert in PI3K signalling, a major disease target in oncology and inflammatory diseases. Dr Cutillas is an expert in quantitative mass spectrometry and conceived the technology that is the basis of Activiomics.

Pedro Cutillas said: "It is personally very rewarding seeing discoveries made in the lab moved into commercial development with the ultimate aim of patient benefit". Bart Vanhaesebroeck commented: "Activiomics embodies the ambition of the Centre for Cell Signalling to translate its discoveries into commercial and clinical benefit, and I am extremely pleased by our rapid progress in these areas".

Dr Mark Warne, Interim CEO of Activiomics, said: "We are delighted to have signed our first commercial agreement and look forward to working with GSK to identify novel modulators of inflammatory signalling. We believe our unique technology has significant advantages over existing methods and it is pleasing to see it already gaining traction in the marketplace."

For more information, please contact:
Activiomics Ltd
Mark Warne, Interim CEO
Tel: +44 (0) 845 5195 091

About Activiomics Ltd
Activiomics is a privately owned spin-out company from the Institute of Cancer, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London.

It has developed innovative technologies that utilise mass spectrometry to interrogate and interpret the activity of cellular signalling pathways, generating high value information for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Its novel 'TIQUAS' platform enables the label free quantification of phosphopeptides for biomarker discovery and drug profiling. Unlike other phosphoproteomics techniques, TIQUAS can comprehensively profile and cross-compare phosphopeptides, ensuring accurate and reproducible data.

For more information, please visit our website at www.activiomics.com

About Queen Mary Innovation Limited
Queen Mary Innovation drives the Knowledge Transfer strategy of Queen Mary, University of London and promotes enterprise and innovation across the College. We endeavour to deliver economic and social impact by supporting academic staff in transferring their knowledge, expertise and research outcomes to business and the wider community. Through collaboration and Knowledge Transfer activities Queen Mary Innovation helps industry locally, nationally and internationally to access the skills, knowledge and capabilities of Queen Mary, University of London.

For more information, please visit our website:
www.qminnovation.co.uk (Opens in a new window)

About Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry - at Queen Mary, University of London - offers international levels of excellence in research and teaching while serving a population of unrivalled diversity amongst which cases of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, TB, oral disease and cancers are prevalent, within east London and the wider Thames Gateway. Through partnership with our linked trusts, notably Barts and The London NHS Trust, and our associated University Hospital trusts – Homerton, Newham, Whipps Cross and Queen's – the School's research and teaching is informed by an exceptionally wide ranging and stimulating clinical environment.

At the heart of the School's mission lies world class research, the result of a focused programme of recruitment of leading research groups from the UK and abroad and a £100 million investment in state-of-the-art facilities. Research is focused on translational research, cancer, cardiology, clinical pharmacology, inflammation, infectious diseases, stem cells, dermatology, gastroenterology, haematology, diabetes, neuroscience, surgery and dentistry.

The School is nationally and internationally recognised for research in these areas, reflected in the £40 million it attracts annually in research income. Its fundamental mission, with its partner NHS Trusts, and other partner organisations such as CRUK, is to ensure that that the best possible clinical service is underpinned by the very latest developments in scientific and clinical teaching, training and research.

For more information, please visit our website:
www.smd.qmul.ac.uk (Opens in a new window)

About IP Group
IP Group is an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company that specialises in commercialising university technology. Founded in 2001, IP Group listed on AIM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. It has made two acquisitions to date - Techtran, a company set up to commercialise university intellectual property under a long term contract with the University of Leeds, in 2005 and Top Technology Ventures, an investment adviser to early stage technology venture capital funds, in 2004.
IP Group has formed long-term partnerships with ten universities - the University of Oxford, King's College London, CNAP/University of York, the University of Leeds, the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey, the University of Southampton, Queen Mary (University of London), the University of Bath and the University of Glasgow.

The Company's portfolio is diverse with exposure to five main sectors - Energy & Renewables, Healthcare & Life Sciences: Non-therapeutics, Healthcare & Life Sciences: Therapeutics, IT & Communications and Chemicals & Materials. To date, eleven portfolio companies have listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, one on PLUS Markets and there have been four trade sales.

For more information, please visit our website:
www.ipgroupplc.com (Opens in a new window)

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