Medical company Panacea Pharma Projects (PPP) is helping Isle of Man tennis star Laura Feely to pursue her ambition of becoming a tennis pro. The company has given the reigning Isle of Man Senior County Ladies Champion a grant of ?8,500 which will help her pay for travel expenses to tournaments in the UK. The 16-year-old is already ranked in the top 100 of the UK rankings and this year won the North of England Under 16s and Under 18s Junior titles and the Isle of Man PokerStars Open. Steve Proudlove, Head of Pharmacovigilance at PPP, said: “Laura is obviously a very talented player who has ambitions to go much further in the sport. To make more progress she has to compete at more tournaments in the UK and we are delighted to be able to provide sponsorship to help her cover the costs of travel expenses.” Laura, who regularly attends the Bolton Tennis Academy where she receives coaching, thanked her sponsors. She said: “I would like to thank PPP for their very generous sponsorship support which will allow me to travel regularly to the UK to compete and train at a higher level, and improve my UK national ranking now I have made it into the top 100. Also, it gives me a chance to play in the British Tour events and enter some European competitions. I appreciate PPP’s belief in me and for giving me a fantastic opportunity to take my tennis to the next level.” Laura is currently studying A Levels and trains in her spare time at the Albany Tennis Club. Earlier this year the club received a ?5,000 donation from PPP to fund its Mini Tennis Programme in 2010. The programme encourages youngsters to play the sport and provides expert coaching. PPP has agreed to support the programme with a total of ?15,000 over three years. The company is a specialist in pharmacovigilance and works for pharmaceutical companies to detect and assess any safety concerns which may relate to prescription drugs. PPP’s offices are at Ballastrang Farm, Santon, and the company currently employs nine staff on the Island, but this will increase to 11 in the New Year. In addition, PPP also has a sales representative in the UK. ENDS