Investment
IP Group plc has made the first investments from the IP Venture Fund - raised in partnership with European Investment Fund - putting money into follow-on rounds in two spin-outs from the University of Oxford in which it is already a shareholder.
The follow-on fundings are in Oxford RF Sensors Ltd and InhibOx Ltd.
The exact amounts were not disclosed but IP Group said the IP Venture Fund will commit in the region of 25 perc ent of the amount of post-seed financings of IP Group portfolio companies alongside capital committed by external investors.
Oxford RF has developed novel, non-contact sensors, which can detect and measure a variety of materials including metals, plastics, gases and liquids. The sensors operate across a wide temperature and frequency range and are resilient to dirt, dust and oil contamination. Target markets include fluid condition monitoring, bearing condition monitoring and identification of plastics for recycling.
InhibOx has developed an in silico drug discovery system and claims its combination of screening software, very large compound libraries and computing power will enable it to provide a range of drug discovery services.
The IP Fund was launched in July and had a first closing of £15.5 million, including a commitment of £1.4 million from IP Group. It expects to make two further investments within the next two months.
The European Investment Fund has a brief to support and implement EU policies on innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and job creation for SMEs. It operates in partnership with its shareholders, the European Investment Bank, the European Commission and private financial institutions.
At the same time IP Group plc announced it has acquired a stake in OxTox Ltd, a spin-out from the chemistry department at Oxford University.
OxTox, the 64th spin-out from the university raised a total of £600,000. IP Group led the investment round with additional investment from Oxford Technology 4 Venture Capital Trust and a local business angel. OxTox will use the funds to manufacture its hand held drug-testing kits for the police to for testing drivers suspected of driving under the influence of illegal drugs. The company claims the kits are as reliable and easy to use as breathalysers for testing for alcohol levels.
The OxTox Drugsensing technology builds on electrochemical sensor technology developed in the research group of Richard Compton. It consists of sensors that, when combined with electricity and a sample of saliva, produce a signal when the target drug is present.
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