MINDWEAVERS PLC
PRESS RELEASE - 7 August 2007
Investment Success for MindWeavers augurs well for Admission to PLUS Markets
MindWeavers set to launch new products for Brain Health market
MindWeavers, a spin-out company from the University of Oxford which produces innovative software that alters brain function, has secured £558,000 of new investment capital during an oversubscribed funding round. MindWeavers has also converted to plc status in anticipation of a planned listing on the PLUS Markets that will see the Company seeking to raise an additional £1 million.
MindWeavers creates and sells software that exercises specific areas of the brain to improve human performance ‘by design’. The Company’s software is based on research which has shown that our neural systems are ‘plastic’ and malleable - constantly changing throughout life - and that effective instruction can alter brain function. In particular, breakthroughs in neuroscience have led to a new understanding of how the brain learns language.
The research findings on brain plasticity, and the significant improvements in key language skills which can result from ‘brain training’, are gaining increasing public acceptance. A Channel 4 TV documentary (‘The Dyslexia Myth’), presenting findings from over 600 research studies, concluded that as many as one in three children have difficulty with reading because part of their brain is not working properly. This minor neurological weakness makes it difficult for the children to distinguish the tiny sounds within words known as phonemes.
MindWeavers’ Phonomena product is designed to correct this weakness by ‘retraining’ the area of the brain involved. Delivered in an entertaining computer game format, Phonomena enhances the neural pathways that process sounds and has been proven to dramatically improve children’s language skills. Published results show that Phonomena improves Phonological Awareness - the strongest predictor of reading, writing and spelling success - by 2.4 years after just six hours use over a four week period. The game is currently used in homes and schools across the UK and recommended by speech and language therapists.
MindWeavers is extending its software range into brain health products and in September will launch MindFit, the first in a series of ‘brain exercise’ computer game products, targeted at ‘baby boomers’ wishing to keep their minds active in order to slow, delay and protect against the effects of ageing. This move into the adult brain health market follows the Company’s acquisition of BrainBoost, a business which develops software to protect against cognitive decline, founded by Baroness Susan Greenfield, world expert in neuro-development and degeneration.
Chief Executive, Bruce Robinson, said: “We are delighted with the success of the fundraising, which exceeded our expectations and bodes well for our anticipated admission to the PLUS Markets. The new funding will enable us to exploit wider opportunities for our brain training software.
“Phonomena currently provides support for children with language-based learning difficulties. We will now be developing additional versions of Phonomena aimed at parents who are concerned that their children are falling behind at school or who simply want to give their children the best start in life.”
MindWeavers is also exploring opportunities for specific versions of Phonomena in the emerging field of Auditory Processing Disorder, for which the current product is being recommended by Great Ormond Street Hospital, and with cochlear implant users who have reported dramatic improvements in their hearing after using Phonomena.
Mr Robinson commented on plans for MindFit: “We are finalising plans to launch MindFit, an innovative brain exercise product, onto the UK market in early September. MindFit has been developed by our partners, CogniFit, with whom we have signed an exclusive distribution agreement, and carries the endorsement of Baroness Greenfield. It assesses, trains and has been proven to improve a range of abilities known to decline with age.
“We are also currently undertaking a clinical study of the MindWorks software we developed jointly with CogniFit, which aims to protect brain health in patients who have been diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment and early Alzheimer’s.”
MindWeavers secured its funding through a private placement handled by City and Merchant Group plc, which provides corporate finance and investment services to SMEs.
Chairman of City and Merchant Group, Tim Lyle, said: “We are very pleased to be involved with MindWeavers at this exciting stage of the Company’s development. The vigorous response to our fundraising bodes well for the future, as MindWeavers aims to convert strong investor demand into buoyant consumer take-up of the Company’s product range. Assuming the anticipated growth in sales generated by the marketing drive currently underway, we look forward to helping MindWeavers to be admitted to trading on the PLUS Markets in 2008.”
Press contact: Margaret Henry, PR Consultant.
Tel: +44 (0)1865 811199 Email: m.henry@oxin.co.uk
About MindWeavers plc
MindWeavers plc is a University of Oxford spin-out company, which creates and sells software products that apply world-leading neuronal science to harness the dynamism of the human brain. The Company’s innovative software products can dramatically improve children’s language learning abilities and can maintain brain health in older people, protecting against age-related mental decline.
The science behind MindWeavers is led by two of the world’s foremost neuroscientists: Professor David Moore, an expert in auditory neuroscience, brain function and learning, and Baroness Susan Greenfield, Britain’s top brain scientist and expert on the human mind, who is a world expert in neuro-development and degeneration.
The Company was founded by Professor Moore in 2000, following his discovery that many children with language impairments had problems in perceiving simple sounds which affected their speaking, reading and writing abilities. MindWeavers first product, the Phonomena computer game, trains children to distinguish between word sounds, and automatically adjusts to each child’s level, keeping them working at their ‘edge of competence’ – the level at which Professor Moore’s research has shown that learning increases dramatically.
MindWeavers moved into the ‘brain exercise’ and brain health market with the acquisition of BrainBoost and is currently launching a series of innovative brain exercise products for the baby boomer market, as well as trialling brain health products which aim to protect people who have been diagnosed with early cognitive decline.
Investors in MindWeavers include the University of Oxford, business angels and Oxford Innovation Ltd. For further information: www.mindweavers.com
mindweavers press release aug07