Isogenica completes acquisition of the principal assets of Karyon CTT
UK-based Isogenica has acquired the principal assets of Finnish biotechnology company Karyon CTT.
UK-based Isogenica has acquired the principal assets of Finnish biotechnology company Karyon CTT.
Under the terms of the deal, Isogenica will acquire the intellectual property portfolio and the laboratory equipment of KCTT. At the same time the Finnish company KC Holding has, in exchange for a £2m cash investment, received an unspecified number of Isogenica's ordinary shares.
Isogenica has developed a powerful in vitro display technology, CIS display, which provides a novel and effective means of rapidly identifying polypeptides that bind with high affinity and fine specificity to any given molecular target. The technology can also be used for enhancing the in vivo performance of therapeutic and diagnostic peptide products.
Isogenica was formed in December 2000 to develop and commercialize innovative in vitro molecular evolution technologies. The company has its research facility at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge UK.
"The cash investment along with the laboratory equipment will significantly strengthen Isogenica's operations, while the IP portfolio contains some compounds that, when further optimised using CIS display, could result in the creation of assets with substantial value," said Dr Kevin FitzGerald, Isogenica's ceo.
"Isogenica's ability to enhance the KCTT portfolio is a very exciting opportunity," added Dr Renny Leach, who joins the board of directors as the KC Holding representative. "The asset transfer was therefore a natural extension of KCTT's peptide development programme."