Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Nanostart-holding MagForce to radically enforce market set up strategy with new management team

Home > Press > Nanostart-holding MagForce to radically enforce market set up strategy with new management team

Abstract:
- Focus on most important value drivers in the short-term
- Experienced senior executives added to the management board
- Core functions will be centralized in Munich
- Million euro cost savings expected from restructuring measures

Nanostart-holding MagForce to radically enforce market set up strategy with new management team

Berlin / Frankfurt Germany | Posted on October 2nd, 2012

Nanostart-holding MagForce AG (Frankfurt, XETRA: MF6), a leading medical device company in the field of nanomedicine with a focus on oncology, yesterday announced additions to the management board and further measures to enforce commercialization of NanoTherm® therapy. With these measures the company focuses on establishing the NanoTherm® therapy in the oncology market as well as on its commercialization for near-term value generation.

In the short to mid-term, MagForce will dedicate its financial resources to the post marketing trial in glioblastoma, which is expected to start in early 2013 and is supposed to make a significant contri¬bution to its strategic set up. Simultaneously, the company will also focus on the commercialization of its NanoTherm® therapy with its distribution partners including DELRUS and TekGrup, development partners such as the Mayo Clinic for gastro-intestinal cancer and the Department of Urology at Duesseldorf University for prostate cancer, as well as the production of nanoparticles.

In line with this strategy, the company's core functions, including clinical and business development, medical affairs plus legal & IP will be concentrated at the MagForce site in Munich where these teams are already located. Production of nanoparticles, NanoActivators(TM), software engineering as well as the finance department will remain at the company's registered office in Berlin. All early research activities will be reduced to a minimum and will be outsourced as deemed necessary.

In this respect experienced senior executives are added to the management board. Prof Dr Hoda Tawfik, currently VP Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, will be appointed COO. Christian von Volkmann, currently acting CFO, will assume the position of CFO, both effective immediately. They will jointly lead the company as co-CEOs going forward. The founder and long-term board member Dr Andreas Jordan will step down from the management board of MagForce to pursue new projects, but will continue to serve the Company as an advisor.

Along with these measures the headcount of MagForce will be reduced from 27 to 12. These measures are meant to annually save the Company a seven digit Euro amount.

"With this restructuring MagForce is completing a period of important strategic refocus. In the short-term, we have to concentrate all our efforts and financial resources on the development of strategic partnerships as well as on establishing NanoTherm® therapy in the area of oncology. Thus, concentrating on the post-marketing clinical study planned at different sites in Germany, which is critical to achieving acceptance of our NanoTherm® therapy in the German medical community. We are encouraged about the progress we are making and need to ensure that we translate this momentum into commercial success," commented Prof Dr Hoda Tawfik, COO of MagForce AG.

"The implementation of these measures announced today are essential to enforce the commercialization of NanoTherm® therapy," commented Norbert Neef, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MagForce AG. "We strongly regret that this restructuring results in lay-offs and I thank all employees for their continued support. We sincerely thank Dr Jordan for his long term commitment and efforts in the previous years. We are glad that Dr. Jordan will continue to support us as an advisor."

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About Nanostart AG
Nanostart AG (OTCQX: NASRY) headquartered in the German financial capital of Frankfurt, is a leading nanotechnology investment company, with portfolio companies spanning the globe from Silicon Valley to Singapore. The company provides venture capital financing for nanotechnology companies in various growth phases with a focus on innovation-driven industries of the future such as cleantech, life sciences and IT/electronics. As main shareholder of Nanostart Asia Pacific Ptd Ltd, Nanostart invests as partner of the Singaporean government.

About MagForce

MagForce AG is a leading medical technology company in the field of nanomedicine in oncology. The Company's proprietary, NanoTherm® therapy, enables the targeted treatment of solid tumors through the intratumoral generation of heat via activation of magnetic nanoparticles. NanoTherm®, NanoPlan®, and NanoActivator™ are components of the therapy and have received EU-wide regulatory approval as medical devices for the treatment of brain tumors. MagForce, NanoTherm, NanoPlan, and NanoActivator are trademarks of MagForce AG in select countries. For more information, please visit www.magforce.com

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 Canada, Australia or Japan.

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Contacts:
Nanostart AG
Dr. Hans Joachim Duerr
Head of Corporate Communications
Goethestrasse 26-28
60313 Frankfurt, Germany
phone: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 111
fax: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 150

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