XRT LTD SIGNS LANDMARK COLLABORATION WITH WORLD LEADER IN 3D METROLOGY AND ANALYSIS MARKET
6 April, 2005: The Board of BioTech Capital Ltd (ASX:BTC) is pleased to announce that investee company, XRT Ltd ("XRT"),
has entered into a significant commercial partnership with a global leader in inspection and analysis tools.
This arrangement will see XRT's unique imaging technology, based around the phenomena of phase contrast, incorporated
into dedicated instruments for 3D metrology and analysis. These tools will be manufactured in the northern hemisphere
and distributed by the manufacturer through their worldwide network of subsidiary companies and agents.
The partnership involves XRT granting a license to its patented technology and in return XRT will be entitled to
royalties on future sales of the instruments.
XRT's partner company is recognized as a global leader in its field, and the inclusion of XRT's technology into their
existing product suite, if successful, "...will be an important step forward for the entire industry..." and is expected
to generate strong revenues due to the major advancements over the existing instrumentation currently available to the
industry.
Due to the competitive sensitivity of this product advancement, XRT is unable to name the identity of its partner or of
the particular industry. The first phase of the partnership is to develop a working prototype of the tool which is
budgeted for completion within 12 months, with product marketing and sales to commence immediately thereafter.
This agreement follows on from XRT's recent installation and commissioning of its X-Ray UltraMicroscope platform in the
prestigious Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL) in the United States. LLNL is a US-government funded
advanced research facility for science and technology applied to national security. The laboratory's special
multidisciplinary capabilities are also used to pursue programs in advanced defence technologies, energy, environment,
biosciences, and basic science.
A direct consequence of this sale is an imaging project with the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Sciences working
on pilot samples for the "Stardust" program which is due to return extraterrestrial particles to Earth in January 2006.
This work has resulted in the joint publication of results at the recent 36th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in
Huston Texas.
XRT is currently moving towards a re-location of its corporate activities to the United Kingdom and the above agreement
forms an important element of this strategy.
About BioTech Capital Ltd
Biotech Capital Ltd ("BTC) is one of Australia's largest life-science focused private equity funds. With approximately
$10 million in investment funds still available, the company is well placed to continue to develop a diversified
portfolio of high quality Australian life-science investments.
BTC currently has investments in a diverse group of Australian life-science companies including Alchemia, Biocomm,
Clinical Cell Culture, Continence Control Systems, Pacific Knowledge Systems, Phylogica, Prima Biomed, Proteome Systems,
Starpharma, Stem Cell Sciences and XRT. As a registered Pooled Development Fund (PDF), investors are generally exempt
from tax on capital gains and income.
BTC is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (Code: BTC, BTCOA) and is managed externally by Titan BioVentures
Management (www.titanbioventures.com).
Additional information can be found at www.biotechcapital.com.au
About XRT Ltd (www.xrt.com.au)
XRT Ltd leads the world in the practical application of x-ray phase contrast imaging developing tools that provide
ultra-high resolution imaging. XRT has demonstrated the potential of the technology in numerous industries and
applications.
Located in Melbourne, Australia, XRT Ltd has brought together a powerful combination of scientific, technical and
commercial skills to deliver innovative products for x-ray ultraMicroscopy and x-ray phase contrast radiography.
XRT Ltd's strategic objective is to maintain and further develop a world class competence in the capture, extraction,
manipulation and storage of phase contrast data from x-ray images.
ENDS