Cyclacel Gets £2.5M Investment from Merlin Fund

LONDON - 3 June 1997 - Cyclacel Limited, the cancer treatment research company established towards the end of 1996, announced today that it has received an investment of £2.5 million from The Merlin Fund, the new dedicated biosciences venture capital fund.

Cyclacel, based at the University of Dundee in Scotland, was founded jointly by Merlin Ventures (Merlin), who provided the initial seed finance, and Cancer Research Campaign Technology Ltd (CRCT), the commercial arm of the Cancer Research Campaign. It was established to exploit world-leading technology which was developed through Campaign-funded research into the control of the cell cycle and genetically engineered treatments for tumours. This research was carried out by Cyclacel's two co-founders, leading scientists Professor David Lane of the University of Dundee and Professor Allan Balmain formerly of the University of Glasgow.

In addition to the £2.5 million from the Merlin Fund, Cyclacel has been offered generous support from Scottish Enterprise Tayside as well as from Dundee City Council. The new funds will be used for Cyclacel's further development through the exploitation of its R&D base to ensure its growth into a fully dedicated therapeutic biotechnology company. Cyclacel will be based in Dundee where they are looking to adapt premises to suit their scientific needs for occupation in early 1998 and it is expected that a minimum of 30 jobs will be created over the next two years.

Prof. David Lane, co-founder of Cyclacel, said: "Since Cyclacel was established at the end of 1996 with help from Merlin and the CRCT, the company has gone from strength to strength. We have hired a number of scientific development specialists with expertise in cancer research and now have a core team working out of our laboratories at the University of Dundee carrying out R&D and pre-clinical studies. Due to the breadth of our technology base, we are confident of success and we are delighted that the Merlin Fund and Scottish Enterprise share this view."

Dr. Chris Evans, Chairman of Cyclacel and Founder of Merlin, said: "Cyclacel has made significant progress since its inception. The investment by the Merlin Fund will enable Cyclacel to progress rapidly to its next stage of development. The fund has invested at an earlier stage than normal which entails a higher degree of risk. However, if successful this will lead to higher returns for the Fund's investors."

Dr. Sue Foden, Chief Executive of CRCT, said: "CRCT's mission is to see the fruits of CRC funded research successfully developed for the benefit of the cancer patient and we are delighted to see the success of Cyclacel as an important step in achieving this goal."