ReNeuron major shareholder David Royds increases stake

ReNeuron Group (AIM: RENE) said that it has been notified that a major shareholder, David Royds has upped his stake in the company with an increase of 7.9 million shares. Royds now holds 24.15m shares, which represents 5.517% of ReNeuron’s issued share capital.

The company’s fourth largest shareholder, David Royds is a co-founder and the current chairman of the Matrix Group, a privately owned financial services and asset management business. Before founding Matrix-Securities Ltd in 1987, Royds worked at Laing and Cruickshank and the Financial Times.  He also holds non-executive posts including VCTs (Venture Capital Trusts), as well as several companies involved in property development, shipping and film finance.

In a separate statement, ReNeuron said that its third largest shareholder Charles Good, also a director of the Matrix Group, now holds 32.5m shares representing 7.442% of the company. Charles Good previously held 28.1m shares.

According to ReNeuron, its largest shareholder, Saad Investments has 88.6m shares, while Excalibur Fund Managers owns 73.8m shares.

ReNeuron is a UK-based adult stem cell company, whose primary objective is the development of stem cell therapies targeting areas of significant unmet or poorly met medical need.

The ReN001 treatment for stroke is the company’s most advanced therapy, and the first-in-man trials are now underway, with 12 patients set to receive the ReN001 therapy from between six and twenty-four months after their stroke. If ultimately shown to be safe and effective clinically, ReN001 should become a significant new treatment option for stroke survivors, offering the potential for a degree of recovery of function in disabled stroke patients.

The PISCES (Pilot Investigation of Stem Cells in Stroke) clinical trial will take place through the NHS at the Institute of Neurological Sciences, Southern General Hospital, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board. In the Phase I trial, ReNeuron's ReN001 stem cell therapy will be administered to stroke patients who have been left disabled by an ischaemic stroke, the most common form.  The trial is designed primarily to test the safety profile of ReN001 in ischaemic stroke patients at a range of cell doses, but a number of efficacy measures will also be evaluated over the course of the trial.

Last month, in support of the clinical trial, the company signed two further clinical grade stem cell manufacturing contracts with Angel Biotechnology Holdings (AIM: ABH). Under these contracts, Angel will manufacture further drug substance lots of ReN001 stem cells for administration to patients in the trial, along with the provision of manufacturing process validation services.  The cost of the drug product manufacture is being met by a recently-awarded grant from the UK Government's Technology Strategy Board, under its Regenerative Medicine Programme.

Matrix Corporate Capital LLP, a subsidiary of the Matrix Group, acts as ReNeuron’s joint broker, along with Daniel Stewart & Company.

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/15157/reneuron-major-shareholder-david-royds-increases-stake-15157.html