Imperial sells off last shares of life sciences start-up

Imperial Innovations Group, the company which oversees the spin-off companies from technology developed at Imperial, has sold its remaining shares in Alkion Biopharma to chemical giant, Evonik Industries.

Alkion Biopharm specialises in technologies relating to biochemistry, chiefly in producing and purifying materials from plant biomass in a sustainable manner. Alkion was created in 2011 by Professor Peter Nixon and Dr Franck Michoux, current and former members, respectively, of the Department of Life Sciences, in conjunction with Imperial Innovations Group.

Imperial Innovations acts as Imperial College’s technology transfer outlet, with an exclusive commercialisation rights deal on technology until 2020. The company also invests in ventures connected to the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and University College London.

A spokesperson from Imperial Innovations said “Alkion has developed a unique set of technologies” and “the company has positioned itself with a unique offering to several life sciences-based industries and we are pleased to note the acquisition by Evonik.”

Evonik Industries have been splashing the cash over the past couple of months, purchasing a division within Air Products and Chemicals inc. for a cool $3.8 billion. The purchase of Alkion was for an undisclosed fee.