San Francisco British Consul-General welcomes nanotech firm to Bay Area

February 25, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In celebration of the UK-based Oxonica plc's (AIM:OXN) acquisition of Silicon Valley nanotechnology company, Nanoplex Technologies, the British Consul-General of San Francisco hosted a welcome reception Thursday night at the official residence.

The reception drew leading personalities from the US and UK technology, business, science, finance, and media communities. Earlier in the day, Oxonica showcased the first of its near-market ready diagnostic products, advanced nanotechnology-enabled nanotags with particular capabilities for lateral flow immunoassays, the format routinely used for home pregnancy tests, infectious disease diagnosis, biothreat agents and drug abuse detection.

In his welcoming remarks, Martin Uden, British Consul-General, San Francisco, said, "The US and UK have long had important ties in science and technology, and it is exciting to see this continuing into the area of nanotechnology. With its best-of-breed products already available in Europe and Asia, Oxonica has established itself as a global presence, perhaps the first truly global nanotechnology company, and certainly the pre-eminent nanotechnology company in the UK. In coming to Silicon Valley, Kevin Matthews, David Browning and the rest of the Oxonica team have proved themselves to be visionary business leaders. I welcome Oxonica, and look forward to working with them to grow their business opportunity."

"We thank UK Trade & Investment and the British Consulate for this wonderful welcome, and are excited to be in the Bay Area," said Kevin Matthews, CEO of Oxonica plc.

"By acquiring Nanoplex Technologies, we have established a major business and technology foothold in the US, and positioned the company to rapidly enter the clinical diagnostics market. Our goal is to be the global leader in healthcare technologies enabled by nanomaterials, and the Nanoplex acquisition is a significant step towards that goal."

"Joining a UK-based company has created a special opportunity for Nanoplex's technologies," said Michael Natan, formerly founder of Nanoplex and now president of Oxonica Inc.

"An established and successful infrastructure for the development and commercialization of nanomaterial-based products will be vital to the success of Oxonica Inc.'s healthcare business. The support that the British Consulate has shown, both for this acquisition and for our business going forward, has been rewarding."

Oxonica Inc. was formed by Oxonica plc's acquisition of Nanoplex Technologies in February 2006. When the acquisition closed earlier this month, Nanoplex was merged with Oxonica Healthcare and renamed Oxonica Inc. with Michael Natan as president.

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