Innovaro facilitates protein transduction technology licensing between Trojan Technologies, Trojantec

Jun 11 2010

Innovaro (NYSE Amex: INV), a comprehensive innovation solutions company, is pleased to announce that it has facilitated the completion of a licensing transaction between Trojan Technologies USA, a company recently formed by Verdant Ventures Advisors II, LLC (Verdant Ventures), and Trojantec Ltd (heretofore "Trojantec"), a London and Cyprus based biopharmaceutical company.

Pursuant to the terms of the license agreement, Trojantec has granted Trojan Technologies USA the exclusive global right to commercialize its Antennapedia protein transduction technology within the field of prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of infectious diseases in humans. Trojantec was founded with technology developed at Imperial College London, and the company currently licenses this technology for cancer treatment.

Trojan Technologies USA will be managed by its Board of Directors, which shall initially include Agamemnon Epenetos, CEO and Chairman of Trojantec, John Micek, Manager of Verdant Ventures, and Greg Bailey, Managing Partner of Palantir Group. Trojan Technologies USA is set up specifically to advance the application of the technology within the field of human infectious diseases. The Antennapedia protein transduction technology has the unique ability to deliver an active agent into any and all cellular compartments in the body. Trojan Technologies USA will begin preclinical trials in preparation for an investigational new drug application. Trojan Technologies USA will be able to leverage the four years of research and development work that Trojantec's management has with this technology platform.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), six infectious diseases - pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS - account for half of all premature deaths worldwide, killing mostly children and young adults. Global sales of vaccines and anti-viral drugs reached $48 billion in 2009 and, according to EvaluatePharma®, are expected to be $70 billion by 2016.

"Our model is to invest in novel world class technology, then proactively add value by de-risking the technology; and subsequently finance the opportunity. Trojantec and its platform represent exactly the type of technology Verdant Ventures seeks. It is a completely unique and innovative approach to treating a variety of unmet clinical needs whether oncology or infectious diseases. We are very excited to be working with Trojantec's management team," said John Micek, Manager of Verdant Ventures and Chairman of the Board of Trojan Technologies USA.

"The extensive experience in sourcing and financing new technologies brought to us by the Innovaro and Verdant Venture teams was the perfect fit for our needs. We are focused on oncological products that utilize our technology platform. So this development presents an excellent opportunity for using our robust technology as applied in another pathology," said Agamemnon Epenetos, CEO and Chairman of Trojantec.

Innovaro's consulting agreement with Trojan Technologies USA provides that in addition to facilitating this transaction, Innovaro will provide analytic services, network searches for complementary technologies and market analysis for furthering the use of the Antennapedia protein transduction technology. As a part of its compensation, Innovaro will receive royalty payments based on the net sales of the licensed product by Trojan Technologies USA.

SOURCE Innovaro