Press Releases

Intercytex awarded £1.85m grant from the DTI to automate production of innovative hair regeneration therapy

Cambridge, UK, 6^th October 2006 – Intercytex (LSE: ICX) and its partner, The Automation Partnership (TAP), announce today that they have been awarded a £1.85 million grant by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Technology Programme to develop an automated manufacturing process for ICX-TRC, Intercytex’ novel hair regeneration therapy. Intercytex is a leading cell therapy company developing products to restore and regenerate skin and hair and The Automation Partnership is a private company specialising in the automation of life science processes.

The grant will be used primarily to develop a dedicated robotic system to support the commercial-scale production of dermal papilla (DP) cells, the main cells involved in hair regeneration and the key component of ICX-TRC.

The Intercytex approach to hair regeneration centres on extracting an individual’s DP cells from a small hair follicle biopsy at the back of the head, multiplying the cells in a proprietary aseptic culture system and then re-implanting the cells back in the head to induce new hairs. It is vital that each patient’s cells remain isolated throughout the multiplication process.

The robotic system developed by TAP has an established track record in processing many different cell samples simultaneously in the context of high throughput drug screening, where TAP systems are employed by many of the world’s top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The DTI grant will be used to adapt this proven technology to produce autologous (i.e. sourced from and returned to the same individual) human cells in a reliable, efficient way and at a scale that can handle a large number of people.

Nick Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Intercytex said: "We are delighted that the DTI has granted us this substantial funding. The large-scale production of ICX-TRC will be key to its commercial success and this collaboration will support our scale-up work. ICX-TRC is currently in Phase II clinical testing and this project should ensure we are in a position to produce cells to treat large numbers of people, both in our later stage clinical trials and when ICX-TRC is launched."

Welcoming the new partnership, Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Sainsbury said: "This initiative provides a real opportunity to harness the world class expertise that we possess in the UK and direct it towards the task of wealth creation. Biotechnology is of crucial importance in our society. By providing a focus for collaboration and delivery, this partnership should establish British industry as the world leader in this area and an attractive proposition for investors."

Intercytex and TAP have been awarded £1.85 million out of a total £12.6 million grant funding available from DTI and the Research Councils for collaboration in Regenerative Medicine Technologies as part of the Technology Programme’s Autumn 2005 Competition for Funding. This competition invited proposals for innovative collaborative projects developing technology for regenerative medicine applications involving both science and business.

Dr Andy Morffew, Chief Executive of The Automation Partnership, added: "We are delighted to be working with Intercytex – doing what TAP does best - automating complex biological processes and simplifying a critical step in the ICX-TRC treatment procedure."

Enquiries:

Intercytex
Nick Higgins, Chief Executive Officer: +44 (0) 161 904 4500
www.intercytex.com

The Automation Partnership
Matthew Walker, Marketing Manager: +44 (0) 1763 227200
www.automationpartnership.com

DTI
Alex Thompson +44 (0) 207 215 6140
www.dti.gov.uk/technologyprogramme

Financial Dynamics
David Yates/Anna Keeble: +44 (0) 207 831 3113

About the Technology Programme:

This project is part-funded by a Collaborative R&D grant under the Technology Programme. The Technology Programme, launched in 2004, is investing directly in new and emerging technologies, and has been designed to help businesses work collaboratively with each other or with academic partners to develop technologies that will underpin products and services of the future. The Technology Programme provides funding using two of the DTI's business support products: Collaborative Research & Development and Knowledge Transfer Networks.

The Technology Programme is backed with real money. Over the period 2005-2008, £370 million is available to businesses in the form of grants to support research and development in technology areas identified by the Technology Strategy Board.

To date the Technology Programme has allocated over £330m to Collaborative R&D competitions, awarding grants ranging from £30,000 to £2.2 million. Around 450 projects have been funded spread over 40 technology areas. Nineteen (19) Knowledge Transfer Networks have also been established with funding of around £40m over 3 years.

Further information can be found at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/tech-priorities-uk/

About Intercytex:

Intercytex is an emerging healthcare company developing cell therapy products for the woundcare and aesthetic medicine markets. It is using its proprietary expertise in cell therapy to develop products that harness the innate ability of human cells to regenerate and repair the body.

Intercytex has four products in development: ICX-PRO, designed to stimulate active repair in chronic wounds in Phase III trials for VLUs and Phase II trials for DFUs; ICX-SKN, being developed as a durable and robust skin replacement, due to start Phase I trials later this year; ICX-RHY, a facial rejuvenation product which has completed a Phase I clinical trial and will enter Phase II trials by the end of this year; and ICX-TRC, a hair regeneration product which has recently entered Phase II clinical trials.

Intercytex commenced operations in 2000 and currently employs around 70 staff. In addition to its head office in Cambridge, UK, it has a GMP clinical production facility plus research and development laboratories in Manchester, UK. Additional laboratories are located in Boston, USA. Intercytex is a public company. Its shares are traded on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ICX.L.

About The Automation Partnership:

The Automation Partnership (TAP) is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of advanced automation systems for the life sciences industry. The Company provides systems for automating and integrating processes for cell culture, sample management, screening and genomics applications. Over 250 TAP systems are installed at major pharmaceutical companies world-wide and these include Amgen, AstraZeneca, Baxter Vaccines, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis, NovoNordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Pasteur and Wyeth.

TAP, founded in 1988, is a private company with headquarters near Cambridge, UK and a U.S. sales and support office in Wilmington, Delaware. The Company, which employs over 180 staff, continues to grow by developing and supplying successful market-driven automation products.

About ICX-TRC:

ICX-TRC is an autologous hair regeneration therapy intended for the treatment of male pattern baldness and female diffuse alopecia. For more information about the treatment and the procedure involved please visit www.intercytex.com.