Amphion Innovations Invests Additional $1M in WellGen

Amphion Innovations plc has announced that it has invested a further $1 million in WellGen, Inc. taking Amphion’s stake to approximately 19% on a fully diluted basis. 

WellGen is using nutrigenomics to discover and develop proprietary products that treat and prevent disease.

WellGen uses its patented screening technology to screen naturally occurring compounds, which are generally regarded as safe, against a panel of genes associated with wellness and disease.

The additional investment will support WellGen’s growth plans for its nutrigenomics product pipeline.  WellGen’s key research programmes include obesity, arthritis and other diseases associated with inflammation

According to WellGen, its lead product is a safe, natural anti-inflammatory compound, WG0401, derived from black tea that is presently undergoing human clinical trials in the US. 

This product is targeted to address the gap caused by the removal from the market of prescription drug products such as Vioxx. 

WellGen has also developed pre-clinical compounds in the areas of exercise recovery and exercise performance. 

David A. Evans, Chief Executive Officer of WellGen said:   “We have worked closely with Amphion over the past three years to build WellGen into the world’s leading nutrigenomics companies.”

Richard Morgan, CEO of Amphion Innovations plc and a Board member of WellGen, said: “WellGen enjoys a leadership position in the field of nutrigenomics and we believe there is a substantial opportunity to develop safe bioactives that can be used to treat chronic conditions, such as those formerly addressed by cox-2 inhibitors like Vioxx, which command multi-billion dollar markets.”

He adds, "We are delighted to own a significant share of such an exciting business.  With partners like Rutgers University and Danisco, and a strong portfolio of intellectual property, WellGen is well placed to succeed in the rapidly growing nutrigenomics market."