Mercia Asset Management PLC Portfolio companies collaborate against COVID-19
April 02 2020 - 2:00AM
RNS Non-Regulatory
TIDMMERC
Mercia Asset Management PLC
02 April 2020
RNS REACH 2 April 2020
Mercia Asset Management PLC
("Mercia")
Direct portfolio companies collaborate against COVID-19
Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC), the proactive,
regionally focused specialist asset manager, today announces that
two of its direct portfolio companies, The Native Antigen Company
Limited ("NAC") and Oxford Genetics Limited (trading as "OXGENE")
have formed a new strategic partnership to scale up COVID-19
antigen production.
Current COVID-19 tests use the polymerase chain reaction that
detects the virus's genome. Although an important first step, these
tests can only detect ongoing COVID-19 infections. NAC's antigens,
already supplied on a global basis, can be used to develop smaller,
point-of-care antibody test kits that could also be used on a mass
basis at the community level for the confirmation of historic
COVID-19 infection and provide research agents for the development
of vaccine candidates. This partnership will see both companies
working together towards developing more scalable technologies for
cost-effective infectious disease reagent production.
NAC was one of the first companies to release COVID-19 antigens
and needs to scale production to meet increasing demand. OXGENE has
developed a proprietary technology which offers a highly scalable
means of protein production, in this case COVID-19 antigens. The
partnership will enable large-scale production of high-quality
COVID-19 antigens, which is a critical step toward the development
of diagnostics and vaccines for this global challenge.
Mercia has backed both businesses from seed investment and
currently holds fully diluted equity stakes of 30.6% in NAC and
30.2% in OXGENE.
Dr Andy Lane, Commercial Director, The Native Antigen Company,
said: "We are committed to developing the highest-quality reagents
in rapid response to emerging epidemic diseases. Since the start of
the crisis, the demand for our COVID-19 antigens has increased
significantly, and by scaling up production of these vital reagents
in collaboration with OXGENE, we hope to be able to support more
researchers in their critical work developing diagnostics and
vaccines."
Dr Ryan Cawood, Chief Executive, OXGENE, said: "Our novel
Protein Machine Technology represents a significant development in
the rapid and scalable generation of high-quality viral proteins.
We're delighted that by collaborating with The Native Antigen
Company, we can take advantage of our technology to support the
needs of researchers racing to develop much-needed diagnostics and
vaccines against COVID-19."
Dr Mark Payton, CEO, Mercia Asset Management, said: "The Native
Antigen Company and OXGENE have world-leading technologies and
their partnership could be a significant step forward in the fight
against Covid-19. Mercia has supported both companies since their
foundation and we are proud of the work they are doing to support
the UK's response to Covid-19. It demonstrates the wealth of talent
and innovation within the UK's science base and the value of
collaboration. In particular, it shows how important it is that
even during these difficult times we continue to invest in and
nurture early-stage technology businesses which will find solutions
to the major global challenges we face, both now and in the
future."
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Mercia Asset Management PLC
Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer
Martin Glanfield, Chief Financial Officer +44 (0)330 223
www.mercia.co.uk 1430
Canaccord Genuity Limited (NOMAD and Joint +44 (0)20 7523
Broker) 8000
Simon Bridges, Richard Andrews
N+1 Singer (Joint Broker)
+44 (0)20 7496
Harry Gooden, James Moat 3000
+44 (0)20 3727
FTI Consulting 1051
Tom Blackwell, Louisa Feltes, Antonia Powell
mercia@fticonsulting.com
About Mercia Asset Management PLC
Mercia is a proactive, specialist asset manager focused on
supporting regional SMEs to achieve their growth aspirations.
Mercia provides capital across its four asset classes of balance
sheet, venture, private equity and debt capital: the Group's
'Complete Connected Capital'. The Group initially nurtures
businesses via its third-party funds under management, then over
time Mercia can provide further funding to the most promising
companies, by deploying direct investment follow-on capital from
its own balance sheet.
The Group has a strong UK regional footprint through its eight
offices, 19 university partnerships and extensive personal
networks, providing it with access to high-quality deal flow.
Mercia currently has c.GBP700million of assets under management
and, since its IPO in December 2014, has invested over GBP90million
across its direct investment portfolio.
Mercia Asset Management PLC is quoted on AIM with the epic
"MERC".
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
NRAUPUWACUPUGMG
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 02, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Mercia Asset Management (LSE:MERC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Mercia Asset Management (LSE:MERC)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024