Amphion Portfolio Company WellGen Completes $3M Funding

Amphion Innovations plc has announced that one of its portfolio companies, WellGen, Inc. has completed its Series B financing totaling $3MM. 

The capital raised from this latest round of financing will provide additional resources for WellGen to begin clinical studies in humans under its Obesity and Inflammation Programmes, aimed at developing and bringing to market a variety of new and promising nutritional products on which the company is working. 

Investors in this round of financing include both new and existing WellGen shareholders. Amphion’s $1MM investment, previously announced in August 2005, brings its ownership stake in the firm to 19%.

WellGen’s Obesity Programme is based upon the study of a proprietary gene panel comprised of carefully selected genes that are known to be associated with obesity. 

Functional food ingredients coming out of this programme are anticipated to control weight via a gene-controlling mechanism of action that is different from those of other products on the market. 

Encouraged by animal studies that were completed in late 2005, WellGen anticipates beginning human clinical studies during 2006. 

Richard Morgan, CEO of Amphion, said, "With obesity reaching almost epidemic proportions, there is a vast and growing need for safe and effective bioactives to address this important market." 

"We are pleased to see WellGen’s patented screening technologies addressing obesity, inflammation, and other equally serious conditions and we’re excited to increase our investment."

David Evans, chief executive officer of WellGen, said, "We are pleased with the results that we are seeing and that our shareholders have confidence in WellGen’s ability to identify, develop and successfully commercialize consequential ingredients for the wellness market."