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Inverness Life Sciences Company Set For Global Showcase

12th May 2007

An Inverness life sciences company will showcase its business to an influential group of international investors and key biotech companies this month as part of BioEquity Europe 2007 - Europe's largest investment conference for the life sciences sector.

IVMD, based in Inverness, develops and manufactures medical devices for near patient testing and monitoring. Current development work includes a novel low cost digital immunoassay strip reader as well as a point of care immunoassay device using the direct detection of magnetic particles by IVMD's patented technology. The company has also developed a device which predicts the onset of childbirth labour up to several weeks before birth.

The company will exhibit its business at an informal welcome reception and Scottish company showcase as part of the two-day BioEquity Europe conference in Glasgow between 21 and 22 May, set to be attended by more than 600 investment professionals.

The main part of the conference comprises 75 presentations from leading European life sciences companies making a "pitch" for new investment. Six Scottish biotechnology companies including: Antoxis; Ardana plc; CXR Biosciences; Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc; Haptogen and ProStrakan Group have been short-listed to present to the invited audience.

Competition to make it onto the presentation line-up is usually fierce and companies are selected by an independent panel for their potential to make a major contribution to the development of the European life sciences sector in terms of their technology, management or market opportunity.

It will be the second time that Scotland has hosted the conference, following its successful run in Edinburgh in 2004.

This year's BioEquity Europe event is being hosted by Scottish Enterprise, which played a major part in securing the return of the conference to Scotland. Other host supporters include leading global professional services company Ernst & Young, ITI Life Sciences, the Bio Industry Association (BIA) and Connect.

Ken Snowden, co-director of Scottish Enterprise's life sciences team said: "BioEquity Europe is an important platform for companies to present their products and technologies to important investors on the world stage and having six Scottish companies presenting is a huge endorsement for the quality of life sciences activity happening in this country.

"Funding for life sciences companies remains essential for new developments and discoveries - particularly for younger life science companies. Given the long periods required to bring a potential new target through clinical development, to market approval - often as long as 10 years - the requirement for funding can be daunting.

"At Scottish Enterprise, we are committed to helping life sciences companies access new funding and in the last four years, Scottish Enterprise's Co-investment Fund has financed 99 different companies, with over £77 million of new equity invested in some of Scotland's most promising companies, many of which were life science companies. We need to continue to engage with the investment community both here in Scotland and internationally and hosting BioEquity Europe is a key way of introducing some of Scotland's established and emerging companies to international investors."

Since the last BioEquity Europe conference was held in Scotland, the life sciences sector has gone from strength to strength. The country is now one of the top five innovative regions for biotech investment worldwide and the highest ranked in Europe. Around 15 per cent of the UK's life science companies are based north of the border, adding up to more than 590 organisations employing approximately 29,500 people. Scotland also produces 16 per cent of all university registered patents in the UK.

The variety of life sciences companies spans drug discovery; bio manufacturing; bioinformatics; genomics and medical devices for the treatment of cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, neuroscience and reproductive conditions.

BioEquity Europe 2007 is organised by BioCentury, a major worldwide provider of business intelligence which influences the decisions made by bio-industry leaders and investors, along with EBD Group and the Biotechnology Industry Organisation.

"We are returning to Scotland for the second time in BioEquity Europe's eight-year history," noted BioCentury President and CEO David Flores.

"We appreciate its vigorous efforts to build a world-class biotechnology landscape and are happy to be part of it once again."


Ten companies from around Scotland will attend an exclusive Scottish showcase event to exhibit their businesses at an informal BioEquity Europe welcome reception. They include: Antoxis; B1 Medical; Big DNA; Biopta; IVMD; Lux Biotechnology; Novabiotics; Ocutec; Stem Cell Sciences and Wideblue.

Companies presenting at BioEquity Europe 2007 include:
Antoxis is an Aberdeen-based biotechnology company involved in the design and synthesis of therapeutic antioxidants. Its products target and destroy damaging free radicals which are generated in excessive amounts in a number of clinical conditions. The company's initial focus is in neuro-degeneration, in particular ischaemic stroke and Alzheimer's disease. www.antoxis.com

Edinburgh-based Ardana is an emerging pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and marketing innovative products which promote better reproductive health and general wellbeing, focussing on specialist and secondary care markets such as reproductive endocrinology, urology, obstetrics & gynaecology. www.ardana.co.uk

CXR Biosciences, based in Dundee, is committed to accelerating drug development, reducing late stage product attrition, and accurately determining the drug safety characteristics of chemicals. www.cxrbiosciences.com

Dundee-based Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialisation of novel, mechanism-targeted drugs to treat human cancers and other serious disorders. It is exploring the biology of cell cycle control to stop uncontrolled cell division in cancer and other diseases involving abnormal cell proliferation. www.cyclacel.com

Haptogen, operating out of its Aberdeen base, generates human therapeutic antibodies and has applied its technologies to develop an early stage product pipeline with lead programmes in infectious disease and liver disease. www.haptogen.com

ProStrakan Group plc is a rapidly growing specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for the treatment of unmet therapeutic needs in major markets. The company's development facilities are situated at ProStrakan's headquarters in Galashiels in Scotland. EU-wide sales and marketing of ProStrakan's portfolio of products are handled by commercial subsidiaries in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and other EU countries. www.prostrakan.com