Amphion Innovations Partner Company Motif BioSciences Closes $1m Financing
New York, 5 April 2007 - Amphion Innovations plc, a builder of companies in life sciences and technology, today announces that one of its partner companies, Motif BioSciences, Inc, a population genetics company in the Arabian Gulf Region, has raised $1 million in a Series C financing.
Amphion, which owns 42% of Motif, has invested $400,000 as part of this round. Motif is in the process of raising up to $3 million in capital and anticipates that it will conclude additional financing rounds in the coming months.
The continued development of Motif demonstrates Amphion’s commitment to building companies that are addressing important needs in the marketplace. Motif is a population genetics company focused on discovering genes causing common diseases by utilising human genetic data from the Persian/Arabian Gulf region, where the populations are far less genetically diverse and thus much easier to analyse through applied genomics. Motif has leveraged its resources to develop a patent-pending methodology for collecting and analysing genetic data.
Over the next five years, more than half of the world’s top selling drugs will go off patent and as a result, pharmaceutical companies are spending billions of dollars on developing new compounds, many of which never even make it to phase three testing. There is a significant need for drug companies to develop their pipelines more efficiently and by applying discoveries made possible by the mapping of the human genome, researchers can better understand the underlying mechanisms of hard-to-treat diseases such as diabetes, asthma and autism.
The latest round of financing will support research taking place in the areas of type-2 diabetes and asthma. Amphion’s close involvement with Motif also underscores its commitment to establishing itself in the Gulf region, the world’s third fastest growing economy. Earlier this year, Amphion announced a Heads of Agreement with two prominent Kuwaiti families to establish a joint venture focused on the support and development of several Gulf-based life sciences and technology companies.
Amphion’s chief executive officer, Richard C.E. Morgan, said:
“Motif represents a great opportunity for Amphion as drug companies are facing an uphill battle to quickly develop new and better drugs. Motif has a unique expertise in collecting and analysing genetic data, which allows for drug companies to apply principles of genomics efficiently as they race to develop new drugs that can treat some of the most challenging and chronic disease conditions.”
Zaki Hosny, chief executive officer of Motif, added,
“We are excited that investors see the tremendous value in what we do. We have assembled a world class collection of scientists to undertake the highly complex task of cataloging and analysing large amounts of genetic data that we believe contain answers to some of the most difficult questions in medicine today.”
As part of Motif's ongoing commitment to its operations in the Gulf, the Company has named Dr. Faisal Al-Refaei to be its Regional Director in the region. Dr. Faisal most recent assignment was as at the Kuwait Ministry of Health. Dr. Faisal received his Masters in Health Care Administration from the University of Swansea and his Medical Degree from Aberdeen University.
For further information please contact
Amphion Innovations plc
Josh Berkman, Media Relations
+1 (646) 747 7158
Seymour Pierce
David Newton
+44 207 107 8000
Financial Dynamics
John Gilbert
+44 207 269 7169
About Motif BioSciences, Inc.
Motif BioSciences, Inc. is a population genetics company focused on discovering genetic causes of major diseases by interpreting the wealth of genomic data from Arabian Gulf Region.
On the web: www.motifbio.com
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion Innovations plc is listed on the AIM Exchange in London under the symbol AMP. Amphion's business is the formation, financing, management and development of life sciences and technology companies, working in partnership with corporations, governments, universities and entrepreneurs seeking to commercialize their intellectual property.
On the web: www.amphionplc.com
