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Portfolio News
• Information Technologies
AS Group is acquired by Lefèbvre Software (November 18, 2008)
LEFEBVRE SOFTWARE, a producer of work team and financial resource management software, has just bought AS GROUPE, a Paris-based, Euronext-listed (ISIN: FR0000044406) developer of business intelligence and corporate performance solutions since 2001. ASGROUPE's products cover the full range of general and financial management needs for regulatory compliance, operational business management and performance management.
With the acquisition of ASGROUPE, Lefebvre Software is now one of France's top 15 software houses and represents 300 people, a 2008 turnover of €35 million (with a target of €60 million for 2010), 2,500 mid-market customers and business operations in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
This operation also demonstrates that despite the harsh economic climate, M&A activity is continuing for innovative businesses.
ReactivPub strikes out on its own!
Stéphane Darracq
CEO, ReactivpubFollowing its incorporation in 2005 as a wholly-owned NetBooster subsidiary, Reactivpub has now been spun out of the group (although NetBooster remains a minority shareholder). Truffle Capital has taken a 20% stake, making it the lead institutional investor.
Reactivpub (based in Sophia Antipolis, in southern France) is active in the French and Spanish web affiliation markets. It specializes in custom online marketing operations and is ranked third in Europe for advertising affiliation (after TradeDoubler and Xanox).
Chairman Stéphane Darracq's strategy (supported by Truffle Capital) is to build a major player in Internet-based performance marketing. Reactivpub is seeking to develop within high-potential, niche markets (e.g. finance, education, luxury goods, insurance and healthcare) by leveraging its existing affiliation platform and its synergies with the NetBooster group.
Its performance-based business model is a novel concept and is particularly well suited to the current financial and economic crisis: targeted advertising campaigns are only charged for when they deliver results. In fact, once the customer has made the initial marketing investment, it only pays for success and can precisely measure its return on investment. This performance-based business model is further advantaged by the behavior of consumers who are buying more on the Internet, where prices are lower and price comparisons are easier.
Keyyo – back to sustainable profitability and growth
Ph. Houdouin
CEO, KeyyoThe Keyyo group (formerly Phone Systems & Network), France's leading VOIP operator for corporate clients, posted a turnover of €3.95 million for Q3 2008 - a 16.3% increase over Q3 2007. For the first 9 months of the year, the group's turnover amounted to €11.74 - up by 15.1% on 2007.
Despite the uncertain economic context, Keyyo expects to grow its business in 2009 by at least 15% (and over 20% when excluding wholesale minute payments).
As of January 5, 2009, Keyyo became the first IP services operator to offer freephone 0800 numbers to its corporate clients (the "Keyyo business" package). Keyyo has a wide range of special numbers and thus enables its customers to choose their "shop window" numbers.
• Life Sciences
Theraclion receives €8.5 million from Oséo as part of the TUCE strategic industrial innovation project
Theraclion, the only medtech company in the world developing an innovative technology for the treatment of hyperparathyroidism, has been granted €8.5 million in R&D funding by OSEO (the French state innovation agency) as part of the TUCE strategic industrial innovation project on elastography-guided ultrasound therapy. The ultrasound imaging company SuperSonic Imagine will also participate in the Theraclion-led program.
The €8.5 million in funding comes as a direct, €3.5 million grant and €5 million in reimbursable advances. In all, €6.9 million of the total amount will be attributed to Theraclion, with €1.6 going to SuperSonic Imagine. After €500,000 in 2005 and €1.3 million in 2007, this is the third time that OSEO has provided Theraclion with financial support.
 Hyperparathyroidism (the secretion of excess parathyroid hormone) leads to phosphocalcium imbalance and bone demineralization; it affects hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide. At present, hyperparathyroid patients have to choose between either costly, chronic drug treatment or surgery, with its inherent risks. By leveraging its proprietary "Ultrasound Non-Invasive Surgery" (UNIS) method, Theraclion is developing medical technology which offers a simple, non-invasive, lower-cost, outpatient-based alternative for treating this condition. The high-intensity, focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment (using UNIS method) is performed under analgesia and takes around 30 minutes. The target is identified using diagnostic ultrasound and then (thanks to the millimeter accuracy of HIFU beams) only target tissue is destroyed. After the treatment, a blood test is used to check the patient's parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphate levels.
Since its incorporation in 2004, Theraclion has raised €5.1 million with Truffle Capital, its founding investor.
Neovacs - first promising results for its phase I/II clinical trial with the candidate TNFα-kinoid for the treatment of Crohn’s disease
Guy-Charles
Fanneau de La Horie
DG, NeovacsThis Phase I/II study corresponds to the first-in-man administration of a kinoid.
Néovacs is a leading biotechnology company developing anti-cytokine and anti-viral regulation protein therapeutic vaccines to treat certain cancers and inflammatory diseases.
At the end of October 2008, the company began a Phase I/II clinical study (at three investigating centres in South Africa) of the TNFα-kinoid therapeutic vaccine candidate for the treatment of TNFα-dependent autoimmune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and psoriasis). The study will be performed on patients suffering from Crohn’s disease and will seek to establish the optimal immunogenic dosage for neutralizing TNFα (cf. press release from the 23rd of October).
This does-ranging study will include between 12 and 18 patients with an active form of Crohn’s disease and will evaluate immunogenicity over several months. The study's aim is to demonstrate the innocuousness of the therapeutic vaccine and to identify the optimal immunogenic dose for prompting the appearance of anti-TNFα neutralising antibodies. This Phase I/II study represent the first-in-man administration of a kinoid - a heterocomplex compound formed by an inactivated, targeted cytokine (TNFα, in this case) and a carrier protein, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH).
Encouraging initial results:
The first dose (25 mg) was administered to 3 patients according to a precise regimen (intramuscular injection on days 0, 7 and 28). This dose had been set as the lowest possible dose enabling evaluation of the preparation's innocuousness and thus no adverse effects of the kinoid were noted. Furthermore, analysis of the blood serum samples collected from these patients revealed the presence of anti-TNFα antibodies in one individual. It is noteworthy that this patient spontaneously reported an improvement in his general state of health.
This very encouraging result will now have to be confirmed in the very near future following administration of a higher dose (75 mg) to three other patients, according to the same regimen.
About TNFα-dependent autoimmune diseases:
These diseases are mainly joint-related (rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, etc.); digestive (Crohn’s disease and haemorrhagic rectocolitis) or cutaneous (psoriasis). In the 7 main developed countries alone (USA, Japan, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain), 9.3 million people suffer from joint diseases, 2.1 million have digestive diseases and 16.5 million suffer from psoriasis (Datamonitor, 2007).
Néovacs is currently the leader in anti-cytokine therapeutic vaccination, with three products under development: an anti-TNFα vaccine, an anti-VEGF vaccine (developed in cancer and age-related macular degeneration) and an anti-IFNα vaccine (developed in lupus). The company holds 16 patents covering the anti-cytokine immunisation approach and the various vaccines.
In 2007, Néovacs carried out a major, €14-million capital increase, with Novartis Venture Fund as the lead investor. Truffle Capital (an investor and majority shareholder since 2003) reinvested in Néovacs to the tune of over €4 million. OTC Asset Management also participated in the operation.
At the end of 2008, Néovacs and Biomedical Diagnostics (a diagnostics company specializing in auto-immune diseases) announced that they had received €7.9 million in funding from OSEO Innovation (the French state innovation agency" for the “Tracker” theranostics project on rheumatoid arthritis (€7.9 million grant from OSEO Innovation to support “Tracker”,). The aim of this Néovacs-managed project is to develop a global therapeutic strategy for rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Carmat - its artificial heart is being talked about all worldwide!
• RFI, 27 October 2008 - Interviews with Professor Alain Carpentier and Philippe Pouletty, MD
• France 3, 27 October 2008 - Midday TV news, interview with Professor Alain Carpentier
• TF1, 27 October 2008 - Evening news
• Le Figaro Magazine, 8 November 2008 - Putting your heart into it
• L’Express, 30 October 2008 - The promise of the bionic heart
• Le Figaro, 28 October 2008 - A French artificial heart project starts to beat
• Le Monde, 27 October 2008– The artificial heart keeps on beating
• Les Echos, 27 October 2008- French researcher start the first artificial heart beating
• The Times, 28 October 2008 - Scientists develop artificial heart that beats like the real thing
• Forbes, 27 October 2008 - EADS has a heart
• Reuters, 27 October 2008 - French company aims to create artificial heart
• Business Week, 27 October 2008 - EADS unveils innovative artificial heart
• Energy
Truffle Capital continues its investment strategy in renewable energy, with New Generation Natural Gas and Photon Power Technology.
New Generation Natural Gas (NG2) gets off to a spectacular start!
New Generation Natural Gas was incorporated in December 2008, with €1.6 million in funding from Truffle Capital as lead investor.
 NG2's innovative approach (a grant winner in the French government's 2008 national hi-tech business plan competition) seeks to improve the economic and environmental performance of methane tankers by replacing nitrogen by argon gas (a better insulator) in their insulation systems. Tankers will be fitted with an onboard argon generator.
The project won €300,000 in last year's French national hi-tech business plan competition; the money will help finance the development of an argon storage and recycling system capable of meeting space and safety requirements on board a methane tanker ship.
NG2 is already positioning itself as the French leader for the installation of methanization units in France and the rest of Europe.
Photon Power Technology – installation of a 241kWc solar generator for Arkema in the south of France
Truffle Capital co-invested (with EDF Energies Nouvelles) in Photon Technologies at the time of the latter's incorporation in 2006. Photon Technologies is a major player in photovoltaic solar energy (a fast-developing sector) and has since installed 20,000 m² of solar panels and sold a total of 1,800 kWc of power!
 241kWc corresponds to the power output of the solar generator that Photon Technologies is in the process of installing on the roof of Arkema's factory in St Auban, in the south of France. With a surface area of nearly 2000 m², this will be the largest crystalline cell solar system in mainland France.
The company now employs a hundred or so staff and expects to achieve a 2008 turnover of €40 million, i.e. 5 times more than in 2007 (€8 million).
Dietswell – consolidation of its offshore strategy and a 22.9% increase in turnover for 2008
 Dietswell, the well engineering and drilling specialist listed on Alternext by NYSE Euronext (ticker code: ALDIE), has posted a 22.9% rise in turnover for 2008, compared with 2007 (an increase from €20.7 million to 25.4 million).
Two major front end engineering and design (FEED) contracts in the offshore market have validated its strategic development plan and confirmed its know-how in hi-tech drilling system design: the first contract was signed in November 2008 with DAEWOO International Exploration & Production for the construction of a wellhead platform in 140 m of water in south-east Asia and the second was signed in December 2008 with the Ugandan subsidiary of the British company Tullow Oil for the design of an offshore drilling unit due to operate in 45 meters of water on Lake Albert.
Watteco – towards a revolutionary “no new wire” age of command and control at home
 Watteco, the French manufacturer of “no new wire” Powerline technology components (PLC) devoted to energy efficiency and intelligent home control applications, is pleased to present the version 2.0 of its new WPC™ technology. Watt Pulse Communication (WPC) has revolutionised the intelligent home control market, by offering a new, innovative solution. Watteco’s technology makes it possible to save up to 20% in electricity consumption while guaranteeing increased ease, comfort and security.
WPC™ technology uses a Powerline communication micro-modem, considerably improving communication between devices and the Grid. Contrary to other traditional PLC systems which inject energy in the form of carriers, WPC™ uses the resonance frequencies of the Grid to communicate with electromagnetic pulses. Tested by the Laboratoire des Applications Numériques (LAN), this revolutionary means of communication has been referred to as the most robust wideband PLC solution on the market today. As a bidirectional transducer (transmission and reception), the WPC™ modem assures the command and control of different residential applications. This unique technology, the fruit of many years of R&D, addresses the essential needs of efficient energy management in intelligent homes.
Created in 1998, Watteco is a leading French B2B « no-new-wire » company in the rapidly emerging markets of Intelligent Home Control and energy efficiency. A start-up with 18 full-time members of staff, Watteco has developed the worldwide patented WPC™ technology (Watt Pulse Communication), which is currently revolutionising the residential command and control market.
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