Oncimmune Holdings plc (LON:ONC), a leading early cancer detection company spun out of the University of Nottingham to develop and commercialise its proprietary EarlyCDT® liquid biopsy platform technology, noted today the sale of 4,317,287 shares by the University. The University will remain a holder of 2,244,527 shares following its sale and has agreed to extend its lock up of these remaining shares for a further six months. The sale of these shares by the University is another step along the path of a successful spin out of the university technology.
Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley, CEO of Oncimmune Holdings Plc, commented: “Today’s announcement is a natural evolution of our shareholder register as the University of Nottingham, where Oncimmune’s EarlyCDT® platform technology was invented, realises the value of part of their shareholding. Oncimmune still has ties to the University and we are grateful to them for their role in the origin of EarlyCDT® platform. We are delighted that they retain part of their holding and we look forward to realising further value from our liquid biopsy platform which can detect up to four years earlier than other methods.”
Dr Andrew Naylor, CEO of Nottingham Technology Ventures Ltd which manages the University of Nottingham’s spin-out portfolio, said: “Today’s sale of shares represents a significant return on our original investment in Oncimmune and the Company is an exemplar of what can be done when a technology is successfully spun out from the University of Nottingham. It has been a pleasure to see Oncimmune grow into a leading early cancer detection company that is already saving lives and is on track to save many more. We look to the future with confidence as the Company has the Management and strategy in place to deliver value and we are delighted to retain a significant shareholding.”
Oncimmune is a leading early cancer detection company developing and commercialising its proprietary EarlyCDT® platform technology. Oncimmune has pioneered the development of autoantibody tests that can detect cancer up to four years earlier than other methods and can be applied to a very wide range of solid tumour types. The Company’s first product, EarlyCDT®-Lung, was launched in 2012, as a CLIA test in the USA and since then over 150,000 commercial tests have been sold. EarlyCDT®-Lung is available through physicians in the US and also privately in the UK and other regions. EarlyCDT®-Lung is being used in the largest ever randomised trial for the early detection of lung cancer using biomarkers, the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland ECLS study of 12,210 high-risk smokers. EarlyCDT® tests for liver and ovarian cancer are in development.
