Aberdeen, UK – 19 January 2015 – NovaBiotics Ltd (“NovaBiotics” or the “Company”), announces that Woodford Investment Management LLP (“Woodford IM”) has invested £5.0 million (gross) in a private placement. 

The funds will provide working capital to enable NovaBiotics to achieve key value enhancing milestones in the short to mid-term. The priority for the business is driving forward the Company’s clinical stage, first-in-class antimicrobial therapeutics assets. NovaBiotics is also focused on further developing its earlier stage antifungal and antibacterial compounds and the anti-infective peptide platform from which these molecules have been derived.

The private placement with Woodford IM was arranged by Shore Capital as financial adviser and broker to the Company. 

Deborah O’Neil, CEO of NovaBiotics said: “NovaBiotics has become a leader in the anti-infectives field over the last 10 years. We have developed highly differentiated, disruptive technologies for a number of clinically unmet, economically significant indications. This development is underpinned by excellent science. Woodford IM coming on board as an investor reflects that excellence and also where the business currently is in its lifecycle.”

Bryan Bodek, NovaBiotics Chairman adds:  “This investment validates our model and the hard work that has been done by Deborah and her team over the last 10 years.  We are delighted to welcome Woodford IM as a significant investor and, together, we are aligned and excited about the next phase of development of the Company.”

Antibiotic resistance is a major global problem which claims at least 50,000 lives per year in the EU and the US alone. Hundreds of thousands more will die in other areas of the world, which equates to a potential global economic burden of up to US$1 trillion by 2050. The need for new antimicrobial treatments, such as those being developed at NovaBiotics, has never been as acute.

A leading innovator in the anti-infectives space, NovaBiotics’ therapeutic candidates possess a novel mode of antimicrobial action. The antifungal and antibacterial compounds have demonstrated superiority over many existing anti-infective drug classes thus far. Furthermore, their mechanism of action is such that the opportunity for antimicrobial resistance developing in the bacteria and fungi which NovaBiotics’ novel compounds target is minimised if not negated.

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Notes To Editor

About NovaBiotics


NovaBiotics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the design and development of first-in-class anti-infectives for difficult-to-treat, medically unmet diseases.  A leading innovator in the anti-infectives space, the Company’s robust pipeline includes clinical stage antimicrobials that have been derived from NovaBiotics’ proprietary anti-infective peptide platform and a “mini biologic” antibacterial-mucolytic compound (Lynovex®).

NovaBiotics lead product, NP213 (Novexatin®) is being developed as a topical treatment for fungal nail infections (onychomycosis), a condition that affects more than 10% of the global population. NP213 is in evaluation in clinical trials with the Company’s co-development partner, Taro Pharmaceuticals.
NovaBiotics is also developing NM001 (Lynovex®), an orphan drug treatment for cystic fibrosis. NM001 has a unique antibacterial-mucoactive-antibiofilm mode of action that kills bacteria, disables biofilms and disrupts excess mucus produced in the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (and other chronic respiratory diseases). NM001 is currently being evaluated in a Phase II clinical trial as an oral treatment for exacerbations in cystic fibrosis and is also being formulated for inhalation for longer term, chronic delivery of the drug.

An exciting pipeline of preclinical stage drug candidates is already demonstrating significant promise. These include NP339 (Novamycin®), an antifungal peptide agent against Candida spp and other clinically relevant yeasts and moulds as well as NP432 (Novarifyn®), a peptide antibacterial for difficult to treat multi-drug resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections.

Further information is available at www.novabiotics.co.uk.

About Woodford Investment Management

Woodford Investment Management is a fast-growing asset management company built on a founding philosophy of transparency and simplicity. Launched in May 2014, the company has more than £8bn assets under management and advice. Further information can be found at https://woodfordfunds.com

Issued for and on behalf of NovaBiotics by Instinctif Partners.
For more information please contact:

NovaBiotics:
Dr. Deborah O’Neil - CEO & CSO 
deborah@novabiotics.co.uk
Bryan Bodek - Chairman 
bryan@novabiotics.co.uk
+44 (0) 1224 711377

Shore Capital (Financial Adviser and Broker)
Brian White / Bidhi Bhoma / Edward Mansfield
+44 (0) 20 7408 4090

For media enquiries:

Instinctif Partners:
Melanie Toyne Sewell/Gemma Howe/Emma Barlow
novabiotics@instinctif.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020