IP Group plc - First day dealings in Tissue Regenix

29 Jun 2010

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group"), the developer of intellectual property based businesses, is pleased to note that Tissue Regenix Group plc ("Tissue Regenix" or "the Company"), a medical technology company that is held within the IP Group portfolio and a spin-out company from the University of Leeds, has today joined AIM via a reverse takeover of Oxeco plc (AIM: OXE) ("Oxeco") (the "Reversal").

First day dealings on AIM of Ordinary Shares ("Ordinary Shares") in Tissue Regenix commence today. Concurrent with the Reversal, Tissue Regenix has completed a placing raising proceeds (before expenses) of £4.5 million.

Tissue Regenix (AIM: TRX) is a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialisation of acellular tissue replacement products to address the chronic global shortfalls in donor tissue availability. Tissue Regenix uses its proprietary technology platform, dCELL®, to remove cells and other components from human and animal tissue allowing them to be used without anti-rejection drugs to replace worn out or diseased body parts.

The three priority markets for the application of the technology are vascular, cardiac and orthopaedics. Tissue Regenix's lead product is the dCELL® Vascular Patch, intended to be permanently implanted into the human body for vascular repair. The company intends to start marketing the dCELL® Vascular Patch in Europe during the second half of 2010. The next product on which Tissue Regenix intends to focus is the dCELL® Meniscus, for the repair of damaged knee meniscus.

IP Group is beneficially interested in 71,703,123 Ordinary Shares in Tissue Regenix (worth £3.6 million at the placing price of 5 pence per share), representing 15.4% of Tissue Regenix's enlarged issued share capital. The Reversal will result in a fair value gain to IP Group of £1.4 million.

Tissue Regenix is the fourteenth of IP Group's portfolio companies to have listed on either AIM or PLUS Markets and is the second IP Group portfolio company to have achieved a listing this year following Ilika plc's flotation in May.

For more information, please contact:

IP Group
www.ipgroupplc.com
 
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer              
 +44 (0) 20 7444 0050
 
Liz Vaughan-Adams, Communications
 +44 (0) 20 7444 0062 / 07979 853 802
 
Financial Dynamics
  
Ben Atwell, John Dineen
 +44 (0) 20 7831 3113

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, Medical Equipment & Supplies, Pharma & Biotech, IT & Communications and Chemicals & Materials. To date, thirteen 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 at www.ipgroupplc.com.