Imperial and SV Life Sciences inject £8m into TopiVert

The investment will support the company's development and commercialisation of topical medicines for inflammatory diseases of the eye and gut.

Investors were attracted to the deal due to predictions for growth in the inflammatory bowel disease and uveitis markets and the experienced team at TopiVert. The investment fits Imperial Innovations' focus on the role of university technologies in addressing issues in healthcare, energy, engineering and the environment having raised £140m in January 2011. 

Company
TopiVert has licensed narrow spectrum kinase inhibitor (NSKI) related intellectual property from RespiVert Ltd, with whom it will collaborate to discover and develop new NSKIs. Both investors previously invested in RespiVert Ltd, a former Imperial Innovations portfolio company acquired by Janssen Biotech Inc. in 2010. TopiVert will have exclusive rights to select and develop newly discovered NSKIs for treatment of inflammatory diseases of the eye and gut, while RespiVert will focus on the treatment of other inflammatory diseases. Both companies will operate from the Imperial College Incubator.

People
Maina Bhaman, Director of Healthcare Investments at Imperial Innovations, has been appointed to the board as Non-Executive Director. Allan Baxter is Chairman of TopiVert and Steve Webber Chief Scientific Officer.

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