Fusion IP has "great potential" – Baynes
FUSION IP believes it is proving that its model works after a half year which saw £5m raised and the signing of a pharmaceutical licensing deal which could earn the company £1m a year.
The company, which specialises in turning university research into viable businesses, this morning posted an operating loss of £765,000 for the first half of the year, compared to a £569,000 profit last year while pre-tax losses grew from £414,000 to £1.7m.
But Sheffield-based Fusion IP said the figures were distorted by the timing of funding rounds and it is “on plan” to meet its targets for the year.
Chief executive David Baynes said: “This has been another good half year for the company. The key change for Fusion is that many of our early stage spinouts are gaining sufficient critical mass to demonstrate clearly the potential value of our exclusive University pipelines.
“We remain confident that our business – the process of creating new technology companies out of some of the country’s best university derived intellectual property – is an increasingly valuable model, with great future potential for our shareholders.”
The company’s second half has already seen it exit from Sheffield-based Simcyp in a deal which earned the company £4m, a 200-fold return on its investment.
