SOURCE: TheraGenetics

July 10, 2007 08:01 ET

TheraGenetics Closes $6M (£3M) Series A Financing

Pursues Commercialisation of Pharmacogenetic Diagnostic Tests for Patient Response Prediction in CNS Disorders

LONDON--(Marketwire - July 10, 2007) - TheraGenetics Ltd, an emerging personalised medicine diagnostics company focused on central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the successful completion of a $6 million (£3 million) Series A venture financing round. Swarraton Partners led the financing with participation from Tudor Capital, IP Venture Fund, IP Group plc's venture capital fund which was raised in partnership with the European Investment Fund, and existing investor IP Group plc. As part of the transaction, Mr. Stephen Brooke, Managing Partner of Swarraton Partners, has joined TheraGenetics' Board of Directors.

TheraGenetics has developed a series of proprietary technologies and methods in the field of personalised medicine, based upon pharmacogenetics. Under the umbrella of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, the founding team translated 15 years of research into the development of the first pharmacogenetic test for response prediction in psychiatry. The company is building on that success and developing a portfolio of additional pharmacogenetic diagnostic tests.

Richard P. Kivel, Chief Executive Officer of TheraGenetics commented, "This venture financing round will be used to expand our Intellectual Property (IP) position and expedite the development of our portfolio of pharmacogenetic diagnostic tests. Our tests will guide doctors in their treatment of patients suffering from CNS disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and mood disorders. We are pleased to welcome Mr. Brooke to the Board. He will be instrumental in our future expansion and success."

Mr. Brooke of Swarraton Partners added, "Giving physicians the diagnostic tools to predict patient response to CNS drugs has tremendous value. The era of personalised medicine is quickly approaching and TheraGenetics has the potential to be a leader in the field."

About TheraGenetics

TheraGenetics is a privately held, personalised medicine diagnostics company that is developing and commercialising a portfolio of pharmacogenetic diagnostic tests to guide and improve the treatment of CNS disorders, bringing the right medicine to the right patient. TheraGenetics is a spin-out from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London. Swarraton Partners, IP Venture Fund and Tudor Capital join current investors, IP Group plc and Kinetique Biomedical Seed Fund. For more information please visit www.theragenetics.com.

About Swarraton Partners

Swarraton Partners is a venture capital firm investing in early stage technology companies based on world class European research.

About Tudor Capital

Tudor Capital is part of the The Tudor Group, which currently manages $17.7 billion, and is involved in active trading, investing and research in the global equity, debt, currency and commodity markets.

About IP Group

IP Group plc 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 and has also formed long-term partnerships with ten universities.

As at 31 December 2006, 53 spin-out companies had been created among IP Group's university partners. Of those, eight have listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, one on PLUS Markets and there have been two trade sales.

About King's College

King's College London is the fourth oldest university in England with approximately 13,700 undergraduates and 5,600 graduate students in nine schools across five London campuses. The College has had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest HEFCE rating of 5* and 5 for research quality and it is home to five Medical Research Council Centres, more than any other university. King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, natural sciences, biomedicine and nursing, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA.