New spin-out offers fresh hope to smokers

G-Nostics, a company focusing on personalised medicine designed to enhance peoples' chances of smoking cessation was spun out from Oxford University in July 2004. Based on research carried out by Dr Rob Walton in the University's Department of Clinical Pharmacology, the company is the 40th to spin-out of the University, and was supported throughout the process by Isis Innovation.

Smoking has been identified as the principal avoidable cause of premature deaths in the UK. One in two smokers dies prematurely: of these, nearly one in four will die of lung cancer. G-Nostics plans to give people suffering from nicotine addiction who wish to stop smoking, a powerful new tool, which will give them greater control of their bodies than was previously possible.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified that have highly predictive associations with nicotine addiction and therefore tobacco consumption. These SNPs can provide insight to help individuals decide which specific smoking cessation methods would be effective, offering personalised treatment to the 'smoker' which significantly increases their chances of quitting.

The discovery has allowed the development of a simple diagnostic test to assess the degree of dependence. By combining the results with qualitative information, a treatment programme can be tailored to an individual's needs.

G-Nostics Ltd was formed to exploit this technology, with the Oxford Gateway Fund No.2 acting as the lead investor. Ted Mott, CEO of Oxford Capital Partners Ltd who manage the fund described the opportunity as "Personalised treatment is the future and G-Nostics is pushing the frontiers of medicine. Smoking related disease is the biggest cost to the NHS. As a science investor, Oxford Capital Partners is committed to supporting the success of G-Nostics".

The company has appointed Mark Tucker as CEO, who stated "…we are focused on delivering one of the first, and most significant, products within the rapidly emerging field of 'Personalised Medicine' as soon as possible". The company expects to launch their diagnostic service in late 2004.

Oxford University, Cancer Research Technology, Oxford Radcliffe Hospital Trust and the Management Team are all shareholders in the recently funded company alongside the Oxford Gateway Fund No.2.

Tom Hockaday, Isis Innovation's Executive Director said 'We are delighted to have been involved in the formation of G-Nostics, a company with strong plans for the future and we wish them every success."