Singapore / Frankfurt - December 17, 2007 - Nanostart AG is taking an investment position in Singapore-based Curiox. This start-up life sciences company holds a patented convenient and efficient technology platform in miniaturised aqueous bioassays for drug discovery and other life science applications. Curiox’s patented technology platform enables up to a thousand-fold reduction in the amount of material and reagent required while simultaneously reducing reaction time by up to a factor of ten. Nanostart AG will act as lead investor in Curiox with an ownership stake of up to 16.5 percent.

Curiox’s target customers are research labs and high-throughput screening facilities in life sciences and drug discovery. The U.S. represents Curiox’s largest potential market with more than 12,000 suitable academic and government labs, which spent .3 billion on lab instruments, consumables and reagents in 2005, and more than 14,000 industrial pharma and biotech labs, which spent .4 billion in 2005. The patented, ready-for-market platform technology of this start-up consists of a chip, upon which the reagents are added, mixed and incubated, and a bench-top station which automatically completes the rinsing process. Industrial customers will also be able to profit significantly from the reduction in costs for reagents as well as the savings in time.

For Nanostart AG, the investment in Curiox marks its first in Asia and is of strategic importance. Nanostart is investing in Curiox as lead investor and is thus assuming an active role with its investment managers in the ongoing development of the company, jointly with Exploit Technologies  “Our new investment holding Curiox is our first step into the highly promising Asian market,“ explained Marco Beckmann, CEO of Nanostart AG. “Singapore has established an outstanding position for itself in Asia in nanotechnology. Through our investment in Curiox, we aim to directly participate in the dynamic growth of this region and to live up to our claim of global leadership. Further investments in Asia will follow.“ 

Mr Boon Swan Foo, Executive Chairman of Exploit Technologies Pte Ltd, the marketing and commercialisation arm of A*STAR, said, “We are very excited that the technologies from A*STAR have received such strong interest from Europe, and more so to have Nanostart as a partner to help Exploit Technologies realise the full commercial potential of Curiox. This is a very good beginning and we look forward to more collaborations with Nanostart.” 

Curiox is a spin-off of Singapore’s world-renowned Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research The head of IBN, Prof. Jackie Yi-Ru Ying, will hold a seat on the company’s board of directors along with a representative from Nanostart AG. Before becoming the director of IBN, Prof. Ying was among the youngest ever to be named a full professor at the world-famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. Today she is considered one of the world’s leading experts in nanotechnology. Prof Ying said, “This technology has enormous potential to accelerate life science, drug discovery and clinical research, and we are delighted to partner with Nanostart AG to bring this technology from the bench to the market.” 

The company will be headed by Dr. Namyong Kim, who is responsible for technology development at IBN. Dr. Kim began his career as a chemist at Agilent Technologies in the U.S. and received his doctorate from MIT. Before he came to IBN, he was the head of chemistry group for the U.S. company BioTrove and before that was head of chemistry at an American start-up company.   Said Dr Kim, “We have found the ideal partner in Nanostart AG. Already in the preliminary stages of their investment, we have begun an active exchange with their international network that will be particularly helpful to us in our commercialisation efforts. I am very much looking forward to our cooperation.“

About the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN):

The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) is a member of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Established in March 2003, IBN is headed by its Executive Director, Professor Jackie Y. Ying. The Institute’s mission is to establish a broad knowledge base and conduct innovative research at the interface of bioengineering and nanotechnology. Positioned at the frontiers of engineering, IBN is focused on creating knowledge and cultivating talent to develop technology platforms in the following six areas:

• Delivery of Drugs, Proteins and Genes
• Cell and Tissue Engineering
• Artificial Organs and Implants
• Pharmaceuticals Synthesis and Nanobiotechnology
• Medical and Biological Devices
• Bioimaging and Biosensing 

For more information on IBN, please log on to www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg

Media contact:
Nidyah Sani (IBN)
phone: +65 6824 7005
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Laura Lau (IBN)
phone: +65 6824 7040
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About Nanostart:
Nanostart AG is the world’s leading nanotechnology investment company. The Frankfurt-based company provides venture capital financing for nanotechnology companies in various growth phases. It also provides the benefits of its experience and expertise to developers of financial instruments and to investors in the nanotechnology sector. For further information about the company, please visit www.nanostart.de

Disclaimer:

This notice constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe to securities. There will be no public offering of securities of Nanostart AG in conjunction with the existing listing of its shares in the “Entry Standard” segment of the regulated unofficial market (Freiverkehr) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This notice does not constitute a securities prospectus. Neither this notice nor the information contained within is intended for direct or indirect distribution within the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan.

Media contact:

Nanostart AG
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