Investment in QuNano, the new Nanotech company in Lund Teknoinvest invests in QuNano AB – developer of semiconductor devices based on heterostructured nanowires Lund, Sweden, 5 October 2005 QuNano AB announced today that it has received an investment from the Nordic venture capital firm Teknoinvest. QuNano was founded in 2005 by Professor Lars Samuelson and his colleagues at Lund University / Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden, BTG plc, the medical innovations company headquartered in the UK and LUAB, Lund University Holding Company. It was established to develop and commercialize promising research results covering novel nanowire heterostructure technology from Prof. Samuelson and his team. For many years, Prof. Samuelson and his team have been in the forefront of leading nano-scale research in materials science, physics, electronics and photonics. Since the summer of 2004, the nanowire research resulted in three publications in the world renown periodical Nature Materials (two of which were selected by Nature as "press- release of the month") and six publications in Nano Letters. The nanowire technology is the basis for a major European Integrated Project, NODE (Nanowire-based One-Dimensional Electronics), which has just been launched, with strong and active engagement from leading electronics companies like Philips, IBM and Infineon, and with the Lund team as the coordinators. The significant portfolio of patents and patent applications in the field of nanowires that has been developed by Prof. Samuelson and his team has been assigned by BTG to QuNano. The company is presently working on a number of prototypes that will demonstrate the commercial value of its technology. Prof. Samuelson stated "We started out research efforts in the field of nanoscience & nanotechnology more than seventeen years ago. In the last five years we have had a strong focus on science and IP-generation related to semiconductor nanowires. We are now pleased to see that our research results have led to the recent investment by Teknoinvest into QuNano, which will fund the start-up of the development of commercial applications of our nanowire technology. This is a novel technology platform that may lead to the development of a broad variety of devices, such as field effect transistors, light emitting diodes, nanolasers, solar cells, optical detectors, and various sensors." Steven Morrell, partner at Teknoinvest, said "We believe that Professor Samuelson and his colleagues have a world class team of experts in the field of nanowires in Lund . QuNano is an exciting new company that has a strong core R&D team and a broad range of nanowire intellectual property. QuNano has a strong foundation and promising potential of developing and commercializing various electronic and optical devices with substantially improved performance capabilities." "We are pleased that early funding for commercialization has found its ways into this strategic research field of the university" said Annelie Sylvén Troedsson, Senior Legal Counsel at LUAB. Prof. Gunilla Jönson, Dean of Lund Institute of Technology stated "The establishment of a high-tech company related to this key research area is of great importance to us and confirms that leading-edge basic research can go hand in hand with and support commercialization efforts". About Teknoinvest: Teknoinvest was established in 1984 and is the Nordic venture capital investment firm with the longest track record, as well as being one of the most successful according to value created for its investors. Teknoinvest invests in companies in the technology and life sciences sectors in the Nordic countries as well as in selected opportunities in North-America. Teknoinvest advises funds with a total capital of about Euro 110 millions. Among well- known companies that Teknoinvest has invested in and helped develop are Tandberg AS , Tandberg Television AS, Axis-Shield PLC, Photocure ASA, Ciena Corporation and Opera Software ASA. About Lund University / LUAB: Lund University was founded in 1666. With eight faculties and a multitude of research centers and specialized institutes, it is today the largest unit for research and higher education in Sweden . LUAB, Lund University Holding Company, wholly owned by Lund University, with the task to facilitate the commercialization processes for the researchers at the university. About the Nanometer Structure Consortium at Lund University : This is earliest and largest effort in Sweden and Scandinavia in the area of nano-scale science & technology, with efforts ranging from materials science and quantum physics to applications in the areas of electronics, photonics and the life-sciences. It is a center for the development of nanotechnology and fields of science and applications based on the properties and opportunities offered at the nanometer length scale. In 2005, the research focused on nanowires was selected by the Swedish Research Council (VR) as one of the top ten research environments for basic science in Sweden . About BTG: BTG acquires, protects, develops and commercializes early stage pharmaceuticals and other medical technologies, while continuing to harness value from its physical sciences IP portfolio. BTG funds and manages the development of therapeutic opportunities, principally in the fields of ageing, neuroscience, oncology and drug repositioning. The company works with a global network of corporations, universities and research institutions from offices in London, Philadelphia and Tokyo.