Investment stories

EV Tech investee, Provexis plc, discovers, develops and licenses new technologies for application in the nutraceutical and medical food markets.

Provexis Limited was founded in 1999 to commercialise the Fruitflow® anti-thrombotic technology discovered at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen. It was only after funding from EV Tech’s RisingStars Growth Fund in late 2002 that the company, then under the leadership of Dr Stephen Franklin, started to make real progress. 

EV recognised the significance of the potential applications in heart and cardiovascular health and made its first investment to support early clinical trials for the technology. Fruitflow® is a novel bioactive ingredient extracted from tomatoes and has been clinically proven to maintain healthy blood flow by reducing the propensity to excessive blood clotting associated with cardiovascular disease. 

Following its initial investment of £150,000, EV Tech continued to support the company and provide further tranches of investment against a number of key target milestones, including in-licensed additions to the R&D pipeline; a technology from the University of Liverpool for the treatment of clostridium difficile; and a technology from the University of Manchester for the treatment and prevention of peptic ulcers.

In 2005 Provexis merged with Nutrinnovator plc, founded by the current CEO Stephen Moon, and listed on AIM. EV continued to provide financial and management support throughout subsequent placings in 2007 and 2008 at which point DSM Venturing, the venture arm of a global food ingredients corporate, became a key new investor. EV was also represented as a board member.

The Fruitflow® development programme has included eight clinical trials to date, achieved regulatory clearance in both the EU and USA, the publication of clinical proof in highly-regarded peer-review scientific journals, and patent protection in major global territories. A key milestone for the company was the 2009 announcement that the European Commission had authorised the use of a health claim for Fruitflow® in respect of anti-thrombotic benefits.
The technology was the first to have a health claim adopted under Article 13(5) of EFSA’s new legislation.

The product is commercially-ready for delivery in a wide range of food, beverage and dietary supplement formats, and is available to consumers via the Sirco® pure juice brand, produced under licence. Future claim areas under development include deep vein thrombosis, metabolic syndrome and type-II diabetes.

In 2010 Provexis entered into a long-term alliance agreement with DSM Nutritional Products to commercialise its lead Fruitflow® heart-health technology. It also strengthened its pipeline by entering into a long-term research and development collaboration agreement with the Institute of Food Research and Plant Bioscience Limited, in the area of Isothiocyanates, for the reduction of risk of certain major cancers and systemic inflammation, including cardiovascular inflammation.

In a key strategic move in June 2011, the company purchased SiS (Science in Sport) Limited, a revenue-generating, profitable company which manufactures and sells sports nutrition products. Later, it announced further commercial progress with Fruitflow®, with seven regional consumer products containing Fruitflow® now on sale in various global markets and more launches expected in 2012.

The company also announced progress in co-developing a powder format of Fruitflow® with DSM. DSM is continuing commercial discussions with global brand owners. With strong sales growth reported from SiS, the company is now focussed on generating increasing revenues from SiS® and Fruitflow®.

EV Tech’s RisingStars Growth Fund first invested in the company in 2002, as a £150,000 proof of concept investment, and led all subsequent rounds up to the company’s 2005 AIM listing, and contributed significantly to subsequent placings. We have, to date, sold a total over 50% of our original shareholding, realising net proceeds of £4.14m and showing a gain of £3.25m, representing a 4.6x multiple on cost.
 

eoSemi is a semi-conductor company that has developed the technology to replace quartz crystals in all varieties of electronic systems.

The company approached the EV Tech investment team to discuss the possibility of securing funding to support the commercialisation of its patent pending solution for all-silicon replacement of quartz crystals. This solution allows a move away from physically-vibrating devices, predominantly crystals, with the associated high manufacturing cost, large package size and susceptibility to shock.

Moreover, the all-silicon approach allows the timing reference to be incorporated onto the existing silicon of the device for the first time thereby reducing part-count, cost and size further. The global markets to which this new technology could be applied are wide, ranging from consumer goods, industrial and automotive systems and wireless applications to more basic applications such as clocks and timers.

After detailed research into the market and technical due diligence, the EV Tech team was able to put together an attractive funding package, against a set of key development milestones, to support the company in taking its product to market.

Sheffield-based Tangentix Limited was established to pursue the commercialisation of new technology from the team at the University of Bradford, led by Professor Hassan Ugail. The team has developed a way of handling 3D graphic models which has the potential to improve and enhance the graphics of video games and movies and to change the way they are implemented in consumer electronics. The global markets to which this new technology could be applied range from game production and distribution, through to the silicon devices used in computers and consoles.

The company met with the EV Tech team to talk through the concept; as well as discussing possible funding structures, the team was also able to work with the company and offer guidance on the potential applications of the technology, alternative commercial routes going forward and help to identify a number of high calibre specialised individuals to work alongside the team to help pursue those routes.

Xeros has developed "virtually waterless" clothes cleaning. Harnessing over 30 years of research at the University of Leeds, Xeros is the brand name for a patented polymer-based cleaning system that creates a step change advantage in the cost and environmental impact of aqueous wash cleaning.

The company's washing innovation saves up to 90% of the water compared to conventional laundry systems and gives the same performance as conventional washing. The patented process uses reusable plastic beads alongside detergents, to absorb and remove dirt and has the potential to provide significant benefits in energy and water efficiency without any compromise to performance.

Following initial discussions, presentations of the technology and technical due diligence, the EV Tech investment team was keen to support the company which it believed had global commercial potential. The funding round of £920,000, which was led by EV, was put in place to finance the next stage of the company's development, and to extend discussions with commercial partners.

Molecular diagnostics company, Biofortuna, designs and develops innovative genotyping and antibody screening tests for the clinical healthcare market. It creates easy-to-use diagnostics that address complex genotyping issues. Its novel processes, extensive experience and patented techniques are directly applicable to genetic tests for use in organ transplantation and management, blood banking, disease identification, microbiology and pharmacogenomics. Its tests aim to increase laboratory productivity and improve quality in clinical testing and patient care.

The company was formed in 2008 and during the following year, signed sales and distribution agreements for European and North African markets, as well as securing regulatory approvals on its first product range.

The funding provided by EV Tech was part of a £1.1 million package, which was used to launch the company's first diagnostic genotyping products and to allow it to continue development of its future product pipeline.