News

Genable raises first round venture capital investment

6 October 2005

Genable Technologies Ltd, a bio-pharmaceutical company developing new gene medicines to treat inherited blindness, has appointed two directors to its board: Dr John Monahan, founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Avigen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGN); and, Dr Alan Boyd, former Research and Development Director of Ark Therapeutics Ltd (LSE: Ark).

Dr Geoffrey Vernon, Chairman, welcomed the appointments, saying: "John and Alan bring a wealth of commercial experience to Genable. John led Avigen Inc, one of the world's first gene therapy companies, for 12 years. The company blazed a trail in using adeno-associated virus as a vector and raised more than $250 million in finance during this period. As Research and Development Director, Alan successfully led Ark's clinical development programmes for their gene-based medicines and brought them through to clinical trials in Europe and the USA. Genable will greatly benefit from the experience, knowledge and wisdom that John and Alan bring. This gives the company a great platform from which to strengthen the management of the company as it moves towards the commercialisation of its lead programme in the inherited eye disease of Retinitis Pigmentosa."

Genable has developed an innovative technology for the suppression and replacement of genes. It is potentially applicable to a broad range of dominant-negative genetic diseases, all of which are incurable today. Its lead programme has recently completed a proof-of-principle study in Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), an eye disease that causes blindness. The company is moving to complete its pre-clinical programme and intends to commence human clinical trials within 24 months. The company raised €1.1 million in 2004 in an investment round led by Delta Partners.

Delta Partners is an Irish venture capital firm established in 1994. With over €125 million under management and a strong focus on investing in the early stages of technology companies, the team has made over 50 investments in the following sectors: Communications, Internet, Software and Life Sciences.

Notes to Editors

Located at Trinity College, Dublin, Genable is developing novel therapeutics using the emerging technology of RNA interference, which may be used to treat more than 100 diseases such as RP, brittle bone disease and Huntington's chorea. The company is now accelerating its development programme for the treatment of RP, an inherited disease affecting the retina at the back of the eye, estimated to affect 1 in 3,500 people worldwide.