Syntopix Group plc, a spin-out from the
Syntopix said it had raised £4 million at a placing price of
177 pence per ordinary share, and that its market capitalisation, on
admission to AIM, was £10.1 million. In late February the company said it was
seeking to raise £6 million from the placing. Today Syntopix said its
management was not available for comment. Syntopix shares were last trading on
AIM at 181.5 pence.
The company said last month the funds would be used to
finance drug development programmes. The company currently has a pipeline of nine
drug candidates awaiting pre-clinical and clinical trials in acne and MRSA, or
methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus.
Syntopix is targeting a dermatology market that is estimated
to have global annual sales of about $10 billion. The global prescription
market for the treatment of acne is about $2 billion and is forecast to rise to
$3.3 billion in 2006. The market for the topical treatment and prophylaxis of
S. aureus infection and carriage is now approximately $0.5 billion and
predicted to increase.
The company said bacterial resistance severely compromises
the effectiveness of antibiotics in dermatology both against S. aureus infections/carriage
and also against acne bacteria. Existing treatments for acne often have
unwanted side effects resulting in poor medication adherence. Syntopix is
concentrating on change of use and synergistic combinations of known compounds
with well-documented pharmacology and toxicity profiles that are already
established as safe for human use, it said on its Web site.
Syntopix was formed in 2003 as a spin-out from the
KBC Peel Hunt Ltd. is Syntopix's adviser and broker.
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