University of Nottingham spin-out company, Oncimmune, which specialises in the early detection of lung cancer, today floated on AIM, a market operated by London Stock Exchange plc.
Oncimmune, which has an estimated market capitalisation of £66 million, has pioneered the development of autoantibody tests that have the potential to detect cancer up to four years earlier than other methods and can be applied to a wide range of tumour types.
The anticipated £11m that Oncimmune will raise through the float will be used to complete the EarlyCDT®-Lung Kit, increasing sales and margins and opening up additional markets, particularly in Asia. In addition, it will work on broadening its product offering with EarlyCDT® in liver and ovarian cancers, among others.
A 100 billion dollar market
The global market for cancer diagnostic products is forecast to grow from c.$100bn in 2014 to approximately $170bn in 2020. The underlying driver of growth in cancer diagnostics is the dramatic improvement seen in patient survival when cancers are detected at earlier stages.
In 2012, Oncimmune launched its EarlyCDT®-Lung product in the USA, and since that time over 140,000 tests have been sold. The product is also being used by the National Health Service Scotland in the world’s largest randomised trial for the early detection of lung cancer, studying over 12,000 high-risk smokers.
Making a significant impact
Andrew Unitt, Chief Financial Officer at The University of Nottingham, said: “The flotation of Oncimmune on the London Stock Exchange demonstrates the tremendous interest in its novel EarlyCDT® cancer detection technology. It is also a great example of the kind of innovative discoveries being made by University of Nottingham researchers, many of which are also being commercialised and have the potential to make a significant impact on industry and society more widely.”
Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley, CEO of Oncimmune, commented: “This is an important day for Oncimmune. Our EarlyCDT®-Lung test has the potential to detect lung cancer up to four years earlier than other methods and our platform can be widely applied to other cancer types. The funds raised will allow us to expand into new markets, particularly Asia, and continue to develop our platform for other indications.
“We are excited to be joining the AIM market today and would like to thank our new and existing investors for their support and confidence in our EarlyCDT® platform technology.”
A great Nottingham success story
Chris Leslie, MP for Nottingham East, added:“This is a great Nottingham success story and I am delighted that this combination of local ingenuity and enterprise are at the frontier of the fight against cancer. Today's AIM listing is a big deal for the team involved, and crucially unlocks the finance needed to make this a world-leading health technology.
"The partnerships between those who work in our city's hospitals and The University of Nottingham is something to be very proud of.”
For more details about The University of Nottingham’s spin-out companies, contact Dr Bruce Venning on +44(0)115 84 67891, or email bruce.venning@nottingham.ac.uk
— Ends —
Our academics can now be interviewed for broadcast via our Media Hub, which offers a Globelynx fixed camera and ISDN line facilities at University Park campus. For further information please contact a member of the Communications team on +44 (0)115 951 5798, email mediahub@nottingham.ac.uk or see the Globelynx website for how to register for this service.
For up to the minute media alerts, follow us on Twitter
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…