London, UK, 23 November 2007. Plasticell, the biotechnology company developing regenerative drugs using high throughput stem cell technologies, has announced the closing of a ?690,000 financing round involving an institutional investor for the first time.
The fundraising was comprised of a rights issue in which ?440,000 was raised from a number of founding shareholders, followed by investment of ?250,000 from The Capital Fund.
Hugh Cochrane, non-executive director of Plasticell, commented: “I have been impressed by Plasticell’s truly remarkable progress both in the science and business of stem cells, which has attracted further investment from The Capital Fund. I strongly believe Plasticell’s intellectual property portfolio and business strategy will transform it into a star company in this sector.”
Mr Cochrane increased his personal stake in the company this round by investing ?200,000.
Ian Cameron, Investment Director at The Capital Fund, added: “Investing in Plasticell is an exciting opportunity for us. The Company has developed novel intellectual property with significant commercial potential which Yen Choo has the commercial and scientific skills and experience to exploit to buy terapia diazepam the full. The Company has a strong financial footing already – as the recent shareholder investment has shown. We look forward to working with Yen and his team, and following the further rapid growth of Plasticell.”
About Plasticell
Plasticell is a privately held, London-based biotechnology company using innovative, high throughput stem cell technologies and novel drug discovery platforms to dissect the mechanisms leading to differentiation of stem cells, the master cells responsible for tissue development and repair. Plasticell’s research focus is to discover regenerative small molecule drugs. The company also forms industry alliances by partnering its Combinatorial Cell Culture™ technology for high throughput stem cell differentiation to derive cell lines and reagents for research and therapy applications. For more information please visit the company’s website: www.plasticell.co.uk
About The Capital Fund
Launched in 2002, The Capital Fund is a ?50 million venture capital fund that backs fast-growing, small and medium-sized enterprises in Greater London. To date, the Fund has made over 50 investments in London-based companies and was named Regional Venture Capital Fund of the Year at the Investor Allstars Awards 2005. Initial investments can be up to ?250,000 and the Fund can invest a further ?250,000 after six months or more. In some circumstances, alongside other new investors, the Fund can follow on its investments with up to ?5m in total in a single company. The Capital Fund is managed by YFM Venture Finance Limited, which has over ?280m in funds under management. For further information see: www.yfmgroup.co.uk
