CAMBRIDGE, UK, July 3, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE:CEN) announced today that it has acquired Management Dynamics Cambridge (MDC) - a specialist organizational psychology company - and merged it with its own cognition division.
MDC, a specialist organizational psychology company, will be fully merged within CeNeS' cognition division, which markets CANTAB, a world leading computerized cognitive assessment tool. The new company will be named Cambridge Cognition Limited (Cambridge Cognition) and will be a significant specialist healthcare and organizational psychology business.
Based in Cambridge, UK, Cambridge Cognition will be managed separately from CeNeS' main CNS- and pain-focused business. The new company combines CeNeS' CANTAB technology and MDC's occupational psychological testing expertise to offer a broad range of services in medical research, drug development and organizational psychology. The new company will be managed by the existing senior management, headed up by Dr. Jean Hammond as Chief Executive Officer. MDC will receive a 13% stake in Cambridge Cognition as consideration.
Daniel Roach, Chief Executive Officer of CeNeS, commented, "CeNeS Pharmaceuticals' primary focus is on the research, development and sale of pharmaceutical products. Since 1997 we have considerably developed the CANTAB system and grown sales worldwide. The creation of Cambridge Cognition will allow further development of the technology in the pharmaceutical field but will also exploit its potential in other areas. By retaining the ability to use the system for our own drug development purposes and a majority shareholding in the new venture, CeNeS will continue to benefit from its investment in this technology."
Dr Hammond, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Cognition, commented, "Cambridge Cognition will have a unique mix of scientific credibility, proprietary technology and commercial acumen. The company will have a broad range of existing cognitive services with a valuable pipeline of new products such as risk assessment for professional decision-makers. Cognitive science is concerned with the way people process information. Our mission is to make these measures available in the world of work and health care where they can make a real difference. For example, our technology provides early screening of Alzheimer's allowing for earlier intervention and thereby improved quality of life in sufferers and a reduction in the time they need to spend in specialist care; studies of vigilance in train drivers help us understand what steps to take to reduce human error. Our work in such areas of social and commercial sensitivity provides objective information to support difficult decisions."
Management Dynamics is a specialist organizational psychology consultancy. It provides services in assessments, organization development, managerial effectiveness, and consumer research. Since it was established in 1988, Management Dynamics has become one of the most respected providers of professional psychological services in the UK. Clients have included the National Health Service, Nokia, ARM, Philips, EDS, McDonnell Douglas, Leica, British Sugar, Thomas Cook, Edexcel and scores of other private and public-sector organizations.
CeNeS is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development and commercialization of drugs for CNS disorders and pain control. The company currently markets three products, and has a research and development pipeline-targeting stroke, schizophrenia, addiction, sleep disorders, Parkinson's Disease, and multiple sclerosis. CeNeS also has a cognitive division, which markets CANTAB, a computerized cognitive test, and a drug delivery division. In addition it has a range of platform technologies including AutoPatch (TM) its unique automated patch clamping technology. The group has around 130 staff working from modern research and manufacturing facilities in Cambridge, England, Irvine, Scotland and Boston, USA.
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