QMB Virtual Tenant, Activiomics Limited, Acquired by Retroscreen in a £4.0m All-Share Deal
Activiomics is a private UK based proteomics company with a powerful technology for protein identification which will help Retroscreen to mine its biological samples for novel insights into target diseases.
Activiomics was founded in 2010 by Dr Pedro Cutillas and Prof Bart Vanhaesebroeck of Queen Mary University of London, leading figures in the fields of mass spectrometry and cell signalling respectively, along with Dr Neil Torbett, the Company’s COO. The founders were supported in the establishment and development of the company by Dr Mark Warne of IP Group Plc (the Company’s lead investor), Dr Michele Hill-Perkins of Queen Mary Innovation Limited (the technology transfer company of Queen Mary ), and more recently through the appointments of Dr Trevor Nicholls as Non-Executive Chairman and Dr Kevin FitzGerald as CEO.
The acquisition of Activiomics is part of a strategic commitment by Retroscreen to build its testing and data analytical capabilities following its £25.5 million fundraise in June 2013. The ability to data mine Retroscreen’s proprietary samples will enhance its ability to build robust and accessible bio-scientific databases. These can be applied across a wide range of products and services in the quest to stratify disease and enable a more tailored approach to patient therapy through the identification of biomarkers, leading to the development of new therapies and diagnostics.
Dr Trevor Nicholls, Non-Executive Chairman of Activiomics commented, “The acquisition of the business by Retroscreen creates a positive and exciting new chapter in our work to develop even stronger analytical capabilities. This provides us with great opportunities to expand our platform and expertise, so as to provide unique insights into disease pathways through investigation of Retroscreen’s high quality human samples.”
Kym Denny, Chief Executive Officer of Retroscreen, commented, “This technology acquisition is a vital step on our journey to unlock the tremendous potential within our proprietary biological samples to gain new insights into key diseases including flu, HRV and RSV. It will also allow us to accelerate our drive to explore other disease areas including asthma and COPD.”
Ramsay Richmond, Executive Manager of QMB said: “This deal is great news for both Activiomics and Retroscreen and highlights the need for suitable incubator space to allow companies to grow to a point where their value can be realised. A present lack of suitable follow on space for companies the size of Activiomics is a serious bottleneck as London develops its life sciences cluster. However, through projects such as QMB, this growing demand can be addressed”