Oxford Investment Opportunity Network

The following six companies are seeking investment via the Network as a result of the 31 March 2009 OION investment meeting at The Said Business School in Oxford. The descriptions available summarise the investment proposal made by the company. The information is provided by the company and has not been vetted in any way by OION.

If you are interested in receiving further information on any of the companies then please contact us.

Thames Valley based Company A is Europe’s leading company in the fast growing surgical robotics market. It operates from Bracknell UK with UK, German and USA sales teams. The laparoscopic surgical robot addresses a £450 million global market and is CE approved with FDA approval expected in April.

The Product has won a number of industry awards and sales commenced in February 2009. Revenues are generated each time The Product is purchased and every time is used during surgery via a sterilized disposable. It provides the surgeon with a rock-steady image and complete control, without the requirement for a camera holding assistant. Company A’s 2nd generation image-guided surgical robots are in the process of being developed during 2009/10 for release from 2011 onwards.(140)

The Company is led by a world class management team with 20 full time employees in addition to two teams of commissioned sales teams; Germany (3) and the USA (14).

Currently Ordinary shares valued at £8.7m Targeting to raise £0.5m from new OION investors with another £0.5m from existing shareholders who comprise some private institutions including Oxford Technology and a number of Oxfordshire based private investors.

Major improvements in the delivery of healthcare services are driving a rapid expansion of Diagnostics in the NHS and the Independent Sector. Hospitals cannot afford to increase in-house the necessary breadth of multi-disciplinary Diagnostic skills (Senior Radiologists) outside peak times. This is fuelling the escalating demand for outsourced teleradiology reporting services, as is the imminent reduction of the standard working week.

Company B was created by Senior NHS Consultant Radiologists, supported by an experienced commercial team, to exploit these business opportunities in collaboration with Fujifilm Medical Services. Company B’s business is primarily the sale of fast, flexible and high quality image analysis services (i.e. interpreting and reporting on digital medical images – CT Scans, MRI, Ultrasound, X-Ray etc). We will not run scanners. The UK demand for flexible, high quality, NHS-compliant outsourced remote reporting will reach £100m p.a. within 4 years.

The UK market is one of the hardest in the world to enter. There are strictly enforced regulatory barriers and a lengthy and complex series of authorisation processes, together with buyers’ resistance to using organisations that cannot demonstrate experience of the NHS’ tight protocols and processes. Company B has already overcome these barriers, and we have already received unsolicited approaches from several would-be acquirers, attracted not only by the UK potential but also by the suitability of the UK as a base for entering international markets, particularly Continental Europe.

Company B is seeking an investment of £500,000 against clear development milestones, in return for a negotiable equity stake.

Company C provides innovative polymer technologies to improve and enhance manufacturing processes in the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries reducing costs by up to 40%, resulting, for example, in a potential saving of over $1B in monoclonal antibody manufacturing costs alone over the period of 2010-2015. The Company has a pipeline of proprietary Intellectual Property which is particularly relevant to the manufacture of protein, peptide and oligonucleotide-based drugs (so-called “biologics”).

Therapeutic proteins are the fastest growing product class in the pharmaceutical industry and there are an estimated 633 biotechnology medicines in development, of which at least 50% are products whose manufacture could benefit from Company C’s technology.

The route to market is through licensing to consumables suppliers to companies that manufacture pharmaceutical or biotechnology drugs, or the manufacturers themselves. Several global companies are in the process of evaluating the technology. Company C is seeking funding of £750,000 to execute its strategy to confirm the commercial value of the technology through initial licensing deals in 2009 and 2010 followed by an early exit from the business by means of a trade sale in 2010/2011.

Based on a standalone licensing model, the net present value of projected licensing income for Company C exceeds £20M; for a trade buyer with the in-house capability to capture a larger share of the value chain, the strategic value would be even greater.

Company D is an established and successful SME trading in the defence and aerospace sector. We provide bespoke systems to test radar and other military sensors.

Our bespoke operation has been extended by developing a product, to address market demands for off-the-shelf and re-usable systems. We seek funding, to match FSE SEED funding, to add product-support and marketing to the existing profitable business.

The Product is a synthetic test environment that provides electrical signals as though the user was on an aircraft, ship etc. This reduces costly and environmentally unfriendly trials. It provides our customers with a significant cost benefit because it can be used throughout a project’s lifecycle and between projects.

The Product is developed, in use, proven, and selling to customers. It is also acting as a catalyst to grow traditional sales. RTDC owns the software IP that runs on commercially available hardware, providing 80% gross margin.

We are seeking £400K equity funding to develop the existing market, and to explore opportunities in other sectors such as marine, security, transport and utilities. £200K is already committed from FSE SEED fund, providing that matched funding is sourced. Exit is planned via a trade sale within 4 years

Established in October 2007 Company E currently markets and distributes electroluminescent light panels for architectural and marketing applications. The company has developed a number of unique (patent pending) products using the electroluminescent technology. These products enable Company E to diversify into the marine and safety environments and thus capitalise upon the extensive network of contacts that it has within these industries. Prototypes have been developed with initial trials and demonstrations carried out to a selected number of interested parties.

The two main products are:

Product A - a rapidly deployed inflating survival platform that floats on the water and weighs as little as 2kg. The Seapod can be seen in all weather conditions up to 5miles away. In waters with temperature of 10C a person wearing a life jacket would have a maximum survival time of 3 hours. Using the pod can increase the survival rate substantially.

Product B - Rescue is often carried out in difficult weather conditions, in the dark or in smoke filled environments. Product B has developed a range of ropes that illuminate and can be seen in all weather conditions and up to 5 miles away. The products have passed initial trials with the London Fire Brigade.

Company E is seeking £600,000 to take these products to market. The initial launch will be at SeaWorks Exhibition in Southampton during June 2009.

Company F's product enables you to send money securely and quickly by text message using your mobile.

It is a revolutionary new service which enables you to securely transfer money to and from your bank account into your Product A wallet, ready to spend. Simply use the Product to buy goods or services, forward cash to friends and family, or use it to top up your mobile.

If you have a bank account you can download and upload money via your debit card, if you don't use a bank you can still use The Product because friends and family can send cash to you.

Right now, you can send mobile money or send prepay top ups to friends and family on any network and handset in the UK from anywhere in the world. We are continually signing up businesses and other organisations who want to use The Product on a regional, national or international basis. In certain regions you can also pay for a pint, pizza, cab or club membership with the organisations accepting The Product . All mobile phones are suitable, and it doesn't matter which network you are on or which bank you are with.

We require £500k to achieve growth focused on a targeted student market, £400k to roll out further products for national take up, and £300k to execute the international offering.