Innovaro (NYSE Amex: INV), a comprehensive innovation solutions company,
is pleased to announce that it has facilitated the completion of a
licensing transaction between Trojan Technologies USA, a company
recently formed by Verdant Ventures Advisors II, LLC (Verdant Ventures),
and Trojantec Ltd (heretofore "Trojantec”), a London and Cyprus based
biopharmaceutical company.
Pursuant to the terms of the license agreement, Trojantec has granted
Trojan Technologies USA the exclusive global right to commercialize its
Antennapedia protein transduction technology within the field of
prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of infectious diseases in humans.
Trojantec was founded with technology developed at Imperial College
London, and the company currently licenses this technology for cancer
treatment.
Trojan Technologies USA will be managed by its Board of Directors, which
shall initially include Agamemnon Epenetos, CEO and Chairman of
Trojantec, John Micek, Manager of Verdant Ventures, and Greg Bailey,
Managing Partner of Palantir Group. Trojan Technologies USA is set up
specifically to advance the application of the technology within the
field of human infectious diseases. The Antennapedia protein
transduction technology has the unique ability to deliver an active
agent into any and all cellular compartments in the body. Trojan
Technologies USA will begin preclinical trials in preparation for an
investigational new drug application. Trojan Technologies USA will be
able to leverage the four years of research and development work that
Trojantec’s management has with this technology platform.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), six infectious
diseases - pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria,
measles and HIV/AIDS - account for half of all premature deaths
worldwide, killing mostly children and young adults. Global sales of
vaccines and anti-viral drugs reached $48 billion in 2009 and, according
to EvaluatePharma®, are expected to be $70 billion by 2016.
"Our model is to invest in novel world class technology, then
proactively add value by de-risking the technology; and subsequently
finance the opportunity. Trojantec and its platform represent exactly
the type of technology Verdant Ventures seeks. It is a completely unique
and innovative approach to treating a variety of unmet clinical needs
whether oncology or infectious diseases. We are very excited to be
working with Trojantec’s management team,” said John Micek, Manager of
Verdant Ventures and Chairman of the Board of Trojan Technologies USA.
"The extensive experience in sourcing and financing new technologies
brought to us by the Innovaro and Verdant Venture teams was the perfect
fit for our needs. We are focused on oncological products that utilize
our technology platform. So this development presents an excellent
opportunity for using our robust technology as applied in another
pathology," said Agamemnon Epenetos, CEO and Chairman of Trojantec.
Innovaro’s consulting agreement with Trojan Technologies USA provides
that in addition to facilitating this transaction, Innovaro will provide
analytic services, network searches for complementary technologies and
market analysis for furthering the use of the Antennapedia protein
transduction technology. As a part of its compensation, Innovaro will
receive royalty payments based on the net sales of the licensed product
by Trojan Technologies USA.
www.innovaro.com
– www.trojantec.com
About Innovaro
UTEK Corporation, doing business as Innovaro, is a comprehensive
end-to-end innovation solution provider. With fully scalable solutions,
whether for a global 1000 company or small R&D lab or university
scientist, we help our clients create breakthrough innovation, realize
latent value in their IP and accelerate their innovations to market.
Leading companies trust us to create profitable growth, new revenue
streams, enduring capabilities and lasting value through innovation. For
more information about us, please visit our website at www.innovaro.com.
About Verdant Ventures
Verdant Ventures Advisors LLC strives to create investor value based on
its unique global access to breakthrough technologies through its
relationships with universities, national labs, and companies. It adds
value by continuing the development of the acquired science, while
formulating and implementing market strategies, which may include
out-licensing, selling or incorporating a new dedicated company. Verdant
Ventures seeks to reduce the risk of investing in early stage
opportunities by utilizing its relationships with companies which
specialize in technology-transfers and a cadre of science advisors with
industry specific knowledge. Innovaro holds a minority equity stake in
Verdant Ventures.
About Trojantec Limited
Trojantec Ltd. is a UK and Cyprus based biopharmaceutical company
focused on creating and developing innovative oncology therapeutics. The
patent family covering the broad technology owned by Trojantec was
originally filed by Imperial College London and has been assigned to the
company through Imperial Innovations. Trojantec is one of a few
companies in the world developing drugs that not only attack cancer
cells, but more importantly destroy cancer stem cells. Through research
and development in this novel and exciting field, the company aims to
achieve the next order of magnitude of efficacy against cancer. In
November 2009, Trojantec was announced as the winner of the prestigious
London Technology Fund Competition recognizing its potential as an
emerging London-based technology company. For more information about us,
please visit our website at www.trojantec.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking
statements.” These forward-looking statements can generally be
identified as such because the context of the statement will include
words such as "expects,” "should,” "believes,” "anticipates” or words of
similar import. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected in these forward looking statements and
these factors are identified from time to time in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press
release is available at www.innovaro.com.
