16th of August 2005

ZGene raises capital from NeuroSearch, Symbion Capital I and Dansk Innovationsinvestering.

NeuroSearch A/S, Symbion Capital I A/S and Dansk Innovations-investering have invested a total amount of DKK 12 million of second round capital in ZGene A/S. The capital from the NeuroSearch and the two funds will ensure that ZGene A/S will be able to reach the planned milestones for the next 2 years. ZGene A/S has earlier received capital from the parties. The total funds raised by ZGene A/S today are thereby DKK 34.2 million.

ZGene A/S holds the rights for a cancer therapy system, called ZAS™, which can in a very effective way, enhance the effect of current anti-cancer drugs and also reduce their toxicity. The system is based on enzymes, which are able to increase the activation of anti-cancer drugs in tumour cells with faster cell death as result. "Our goal is to develop our enzymes products and out-license them to biotech and pharmaceutical companies focused on cancer-drug development and production," says Zoran Gojkovic, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ZGene A/S. ZGene A/S has laboratories and offices on the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby and the group consists of 8 employees. The company was founded by private investors, NsGene A/S, and NeuroSearch A/S.

NeuroSearch A/S
NeuroSearch is a biopharmaceutical company focused on unmet medical needs within the central nervous system (CNS) and other diseases treated primarily through ion channel modulation. The company combines a diverse range of in-house technical capabilities in the fields of medicinal chemistry, cell biology and in vivo pharmacology with recent advances in the understanding of the pathology of neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. NeuroSearch believes that its diverse scientific capabilities enhance its ability to synthesize, characterize and develop potential unique, therapeutic compounds. NeuroSearch is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange

Symbion Capital I A/S
Symbion Capital I A/S is the first pre-seed venture fund established in Denmark, investing in the early stages of IT and biotech companies. Symbion Capital I A/S has 6 shareholders: Innovationsforeningen ATP Private Equity, Nordea Bank Danmark A/S, Nordea Pension Danmark livsforsikringsselskab A/S, The European Investment Fund, Kirkbi A/S and Symbion A/S.

Dansk Innovationsinvestering
Dansk Innovationsinvestering was established with the purpose of investing in small, new and innovative companies. Dansk Innovationsinvestering P/S was founded in the summer of 2000 as a partnership between Dansk Erhvervsinvestering and VækstFonden. Dansk Erhvervsinvestering and VækstFonden are committed to subscribing shares for DKK 396 million.