Evocutis in deal with Venn Life Sciences
SKIN research business Evocutis today agreed to sell its key intellectual property rights and assets to AIM-lists Venn Life Sciences.
The deal, for £210,000, effectively sees Wetherby-based Evocutis sell all of its assets and it will become an investment business.
The loss-making firm put it self up for sale last year but failed to find a buyer after talking to 100 possible suitors and its directors accepted it was no longer strong enough to continue as an independent business.
Dublin-based Venn Life Sciences is a clinical research organisation (CRO) providing clinical trial management and resourcing to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device clients.
It has acquired the intellectual property rights in Labskin, SYN1113 and related equipment of Evocutis for £210,000 in new ordinary shares in Venn.
LabSkin, which provides an alternative to animal testing, looks, feels and behaves just like human skin.
Since March 2013 it has been illegal to sell skincare or cosmetic products within the European Union that have been tested on animals and Venn said this has opened a “significant market opportunity for LabSkin”.
Tony Richardson, CEO of Venn, said: “The acquisition of these ready to market innovative products and capabilities, which have the benefit of over ten years of research, further enhances our credibility in the area of skin science. In December 2013, we acquired CRM Clinical Trials GmbH, a CRO with a strong pedigree in the dermatology and skin science arena. The acquisition of these assets will allow us to deepen our capabilities in the skincare and cosmetic arena and position Venn as a key player in this sector.
“I am pleased that with the acquisition of SYN1113, InnoVenn has its first licensable technology. On admission to AIM in December 2012 we communicated to investors that we would hope to add some intellectual property value to Venn if this could be achieved in a capital efficient way and without complicating our core-business. We have identified potential licensees for SYN1113 and would expect to follow up with further technology initiatives in InnoVenn.”
Tom Bannatyne, chairman of Evocutis, commented: “The board of Evocutis recognised the difficult position the company was in late in 2012. Since then we have spent considerable effort to identify, review and evaluate all strategic options available. The directors consider the proposals to be in the best interests of the company and the shareholders as a whole. Going forward, the company will be open to a variety of potential investments which the directors believe will provide exciting prospects and real opportunity to create shareholder value.”
