TIDMSUMM
Summit Corporation plc
('Summit' or 'the Company')
SUMMIT NOTIFIED OF GRANT AWARD FROM UK TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY BOARD
* Award from the Biomedical Catalyst worth up to GBP150,000 and will support OGA
inhibitor programme for the treatment of tauopathies
Oxford, UK, 2 August 2012 - Summit (AIM: SUMM), a UK drug discovery company, has
received notification from the Technology Strategy Board ('TSB') that it has
been offered a grant worth up to GBP150,000 from the Biomedical Catalyst. The
grant will provide additional support for the development of the Company's OGA
inhibitor programme for the treatment of a group of neurodegenerative diseases
called tauopathies. Receipt of the grant is conditional on a compliance review
by the TSB and agreement of terms between both parties.
The Biomedical Catalyst was announced by the Prime Minister David Cameron in
December 2011 as part of the UK Government's Life Sciences Strategy. David
Bott, Director of Innovation Programmes at the Technology Strategy Board,
commented: "We are delighted to make these first funding awards through the
Biomedical Catalyst, which will help bridge the funding gap between the
development of a new idea and investment by the market in a new drug or
technology, and provide effective support for the best life science
opportunities arising in the UK."
Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of Summit, added: "Summit's OGA inhibitor
programme has the potential to treat patients suffering from tauopathies, a
group of serious neurological disorders that includes Alzheimer's disease. We
are pleased to have been offered this financial support from the UK Government's
Biomedical Catalyst to further support the development of this programme."
Notes to Editors
About Tauopathies
The tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases which includes
Alzheimer's disease and a number of rare disorders such as Progressive
Supranuclear Palsy and Frontotemporal Dementia.
The tauopathies are characterised by the formation in the brain of
neurofibrillary tangles ('NFTs') which contribute to the death of nerve cells in
the brains of patients and arise due to the aggregation of abnormal hyper-
phosphorylated tau protein. The enzyme O-linked N-acetylglucosaminidase ('OGA')
plays a role in the modulation of tau phosphorylation and its inhibition has the
potential to prevent tau aggregation and thereby stop the NFTs from forming.
About the Technology Strategy Board
The Technology Strategy Board is the UK's innovation agency. Its goal is to
accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led
innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
(BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the
public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative
products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and
help build the future economy. For more information please visit
www.innovateuk.org.
About Summit
Summit is an Oxford, UK based drug discovery Company with a portfolio of drug
programme assets and a drug discovery platform called Seglins(TM) technology.
Summit's programme portfolio consists of a number of drug programmes targeting
high-value areas of unmet medical need including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, C.
difficile infection and a group of neurodegenerative diseases called
tauopathies. Summit is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and
trades under the ticker symbol SUMM. Further information is available at
www.summitplc.com.
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For more information, please contact:
Summit
Glyn Edwards / Richard Pye Tel: +44 (0)1235 443 951
Singer Capital Markets
(Nominated Adviser and Joint broker)
Shaun Dobson / Claes Spång Tel: +44 (0)203 205 7500
Hybridan LLP
(Joint broker)
Claire Louise Noyce / Deepak Reddy Tel: +44 (0)207 947 4350
Peckwater PR
(Financial public relations, UK) Tel: +44 (0)7879 458 364
Tarquin Edwards tarquin.edwards@peckwaterpr.co.uk
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
(U.S. media contact) Tel: +1 781-235-3060
Michelle Avery
Forward Looking Statements
This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates", "intends", "plans",
"seeks", "believes", "estimates", "expects" and similar references to future
periods, or by the inclusion of forecasts or projections. Forward-looking
statements are based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions
regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because
forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature, they are
subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are
difficult to predict. The Company's actual results may differ materially from
those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions you
therefore that you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements as
statements of historical fact or as guarantees or assurances of future
performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements and regional, national,
global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory
conditions.
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
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other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Summit Corporation PLC via Thomson Reuters ONE
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