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Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more

o2h ventures portfolio company Exonate announces collaboration with Johnson & Johnson
o2h ventures portfolio company Exonate announces collaboration with Johnson & Johnson
Jan 17 2020

o2h ventures portfolio company Exonate Announces a Collaboration with Janssen to develop a new eye drop for the treatment of retinal vascular diseases, including wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular oedema (DMO)

The program, facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, has the potential to improve the treatment of patients with retinal vascular diseases and transform the lives of those suffering from vision loss.

Cambridge, UK, 13 January, 2020: Exonate, an early stage biotechnology company, announced today that it has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Through the collaboration, Exonate will work with Janssen Research & Development, LLC scientists to develop an eye drop treatment for retinal vascular diseases such as wet AMD and DMO by using mRNA targeted therapies. Exonate has developed small molecules that inhibit the production of pro-angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) through the selective inhibition of serine/threonine-protein kinase (SRPK1)-mediated VEGF splicing. The agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Exonate first received Seed funding in 2014 from investors including o2h ventures founders when Exonate was formed in 2014 based on IP from Nottingham and Bristol University. Sunil Shah was then appointed Chairman of Exonate Limited. In 2017 Exonate received a convertible loan from the Wellcome Trust for £4.9M and in early 2019 o2h ventures targeted Exonate for its first investment from their EIS fund.

Sunil Shah, Chairman of Exonate and Fund Manager of o2h ventures EIS therapeutics fund, commented, “We are thrilled that Janssen has decided to enter this significant collaboration with Exonate to support the development of its programme. The deal terms have not been disclosed, however, Johnson and Johnson have recognised the disruptive nature of the Exonate technology and have been very pragmatic and fair throughout the transaction.

This deal demonstrates the funds hypothesis that early stage investors into biotech therapeutics are able to benefit from the global shift in big pharma seeking to access innovation early; the Exonate programme is still in the pre-clinical phase. The success of Exonate is no small part due to the CEO, Dr Catherine Beech OBE and CSO, Dr David Bates and I extend my sincere thanks to the whole team”.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Catherine Beech CEO of Exonate, said: “I am absolutely delighted to enter this strategic collaboration with Janssen, we are looking forward to successfully developing a novel treatment for retinal neovascular diseases. o2h ventures have developed a supportive ecosystem to support early stage investing into biotech therapeutics and their support and input is greatly appreciated.”

-END-

About o2h ventures:

o2h ventures Limited has launched the o2h therapeutics and AI fund which is the first S/EIS fund in the UK solely focused on early stage biotech therapeutics and related AI opportunities. The geographic scope shall be UK wide including Oxford and London but will target the growing Cambridge biotech cluster. The Fund is structured to be S/EIS compliant providing tax breaks for UK taxpayers.

The biotech sector is one of the leading sectors in the UK economy. The large pharma companies now rely on the small innovative biotech’s for new ideas in disease areas such as cancer, genomics, anti-ageing and neurosciences amongst others which has led to higher potential exit valuations. The Fund will widen the community of investors that will help expand early stage research in the UK.

For more information, please visit www.o2hventures.com

About o2h group:

The o2h group team are leaders in the biotech community and have been actively involved as investors, holding various board/industry positions as well as being engaged in grassroots scientific activity for over 20 years. o2h group operate from their proprietary 2.7 acre Mill SciTech Park where they are developing a unique model for incubating small life science companies.

For more information, please visit www.o2h.com

Contact:

Ajit Singh
Marketing Manager, o2h group
Email: ajit@o2h.com

About Exonate:

Exonate is a privately held, early stage, biotech company spun out of the University of Nottingham that is focused on alternative splicing of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in ophthalmology. Exonate’s lead programme is focused on Diabetic Macular Oedema (DMO). A consequence of diabetic retinopathy, DMO, is swelling in an area of the retina called the macula and wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (wAMD), which is the leading cause of vision loss in people aged 60 and older. The Company is founded on scientific excellence with strong links to Professor David Bates and his lab at Nottingham University specializing in the biology and biochemical pathways of VEGF splice variants.

Contact:

Exonate Limited
Sarah Buchallet, Marketing
Email: sarah.buchallet@exonate.com

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Please refer to the relevant fund’s full risk warnings contained in their Information Memorandums.
Your capital is at risk. Investing in early stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. o2h Ventures’ funds are targeted exclusively at sophisticated or high net worth investors who understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. Tax relief depends on an individual’s circumstances and may change in the future. In addition, the availability of tax relief depends on the company invested in maintaining its qualifying status. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. You should not rely on any past performance as a guarantee of future investment performance.
o2h ventures Limited is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 812245). Capital at risk, only suitable for high net worth and sophisticated investors
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Risk Information

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk

What are the key risks?

1 – You could lose all the money you invest

• If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invest. Most start-up businesses fail.

2 – You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

• Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here. (https://www.fscs.org.uk/check/investment-protection-checker)

• Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here. (https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers)

3 – You won’t get your money back quickly

• Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.

• The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.

• If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.

4 – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

• Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

• A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments (https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest)

5 – The value of your investment can be reduced

• The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.

• These new shares could have addition rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here (https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart)