iQur awarded a Technology Strategy Board grant for High Value Manufacturing

July 2009

iQur is delighted to announce that it has been award a grant from the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) in their recent call for applications in the area of High Value Manufacturing. iQur will lead a consortium comprised of University College London’s Biochemical Engineering (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/biochemeng/) and Mologic Ltd. (http://www.mologic.co.uk/Home.html). The entire value of the consortium is £1.1 million with TSB providing 50% co-funding.

The purpose of the grant is to develop and manufacture iQur’s lead combined hepatitis A and B vaccine candidate such that the resulting material may then enter clinical trial. Specifically, the intention is to transfer the technology developed in a previous TSB grant, in which vaccine was designed and expressed in bacteria, into a highly efficient yeast based system. Unlike many other industries, pharmaceutical and biotechnological products must be able to demonstrate that material can be produced to a commercial standard before final testing can commence. This funding will allow this process to be accelerated.

Professor William Rosenberg, CEO and CSO of iQur, stated, “the continued support from the TSB is invaluable to iQur since it not only provides an injection of funds, but also provides considerable third party validation of our strategy. We have worked with all of our consortium members in the past and are delighted to continue our association with them on this exciting project”.

iQur closes successful funding round

July 2009

The Company successfully closed an interim round of fundraising from existing shareholders on 12^th June 2009.  The funds underpin iQur's therapeutic development project, the Tandem Core Technology, supporting it through its next significant milestones. The Company’s Chairman, Jack Boyer, commented, “We are delighted that our existing shareholders have again shown their support and belief in the Company through the success of this funding round in the current economic climate."

Appointment of John Tite as Non-Executive Director

July 2009
 
iQur is pleased to announce that John Tite has joined the board of the company as a non-executive director from July 1, 2009.
 
John brings extensive knowledge and experience to the development of vaccines through his background as a Vice-President of GSK’s Biopharmaceutical CEDD, experience as Head of Immunology at GlaxoWellcome and significant post-doctoral immunology experience. John has also held chairmanships of both the Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research and GSK-Powdermed.

   
John joins current non-executive directors Brenda Reynolds and Bruce Campbell to complete iQur's board line-up. iQur's chairman, Jack Boyer, said: "We are very pleased to welcome John to the company. His impressive track-record and standing in the pharmaceutical industry provide substantive validation of iQur's scientific research in vaccines and will accelerate the tandem-core technology (TCT) development timeframe." 

Transfer of virology and BBV diagnostic testing business

20th January 2009

iQur has decided to focus on its exciting vaccines programme, building upon promising early results to develop therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines for hepatitis, other infections and cancer. As a result, the diagnostics business of iQur has been transferred to Delphic, a provider of specialist diagnostics for HIV and hepatitis since 2001.

iQur would like to reassure its customers that all diagnostic testing services will continue to be delivered as normal, to the same high standards and without interruption. iQur will continue to provide the ELF™ test for assessing liver fibrosis from its Southampton laboratory, in partnership with Siemens.

Professor William Rosenberg, CEO and CSO of iQur, commented: “The divestment of our diagnostics business allows us to concentrate on our promising vaccines research programme. As a company similarly committed to personalised therapies, to accessibility and to high levels of service, we anticipate a seamless transition of our diagnostic business into Delphic.

“I would like to thank our customers, suppliers and staff for their support over the last 6 years. iQur remains dedicated to developing new therapies for liver disease and the transfer to Delphic of our diagnostics division will enable us to focus all our efforts in this very promising area. In addition, working in conjunction with Siemens iQur will continue to establish the ELF™ Test as the leading non-invasive test for liver fibrosis.”

For further information on changes to the diagnostic testing service, visit www.delphicdiagnostics.com

Further validation of ELF in NAFLD
1st February 2008

The effectiveness of ELF as an accurate diagnostic tool continues to be validated in the clinical setting. A new study has corroborated earlier evidence of ELF’s ability to determine different stages of fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Performance was further enhanced by the addition of established simple markers to the ELF panel. One hundred ninety-six consecutively recruited patients from two centres were included in the validation study. Detecting fibrosis in this disease group is important for ascertaining prognosis and for enabling the stratification of patients for emerging therapeutic interventions.

iQur CEO, Professor William Rosenberg, commented, "This study shows how valuable ELF can be in identifying patients with liver damage. In the face of an epidemic of obesity the ELF test's ability to distinguish the minority of people at risk of cirrhosis from the majority who are merely overweight is very important."

The ELF Test is available exclusively from iQur as a CE marked patient management tool and for clinical research.

Hepatology 2008;47(2):455-60

iQur signs biomanufacturing deal with Eden Biodesign

31^st January 2008

iQur today signed a development agreement with Eden Biodesign which will allow them to develop a commercial manufacturing process for their lead vaccine candidate. This will be a combined vaccine for Hepatitis A and B which has hitherto not been possible to make. This project is a result of a collaboration between iQur Ltd., University of Leeds, Mologic Ltd. and Arecor Ltd. It has been 50% co-funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board.

"We are delighted to work with Eden Biodesign in the development of our combined vaccine" said Dr Mike Whelan, Head of Scientific Operations, iQur. 'This collaboration will ensure we deliver a product of the highest quality at an affordable cost. We value Eden's ability to advise us on the best development options for our programmes complementing our scientific expertise with their in-depth understanding of product development".

New non-executive director appointed
6th October 2007

A new non-executive director has recently joined the Board of iQur. Brenda Reynolds has had extensive experience in portfolio design, strategic development and project management throughout the biotech sector. She is founder and Managing Director of PowderMed Ltd, a director of PowderJect Research Ltd and an independent consultant to other biotech companies. She was Chief Operating Officer of PowderMed Ltd from its inception through to its sale to Pfizer in 2006. Prior to this, Brenda Reynolds held a number of directorial positions across the healthcare sector, in addition to roles in programme management and regulatory affairs.

iQur Chairman, Jack Boyer, commented: "We are pleased to welcome this highly experienced individual to the Board. Her track record of achievement will directly benefit the fastest growing areas of iQur's business."