Grant of US patents and milestone payments (6617J)

TIDMAKT

RNS Number : 6617J

Ark Therapeutics Group PLC

04 July 2011

ARK THERAPEUTICS GROUP PLC

Key US renin-angiotensin system patents allowed triggering significant milestone payments to Ark

Notice of Allowance of US patents for Boehringer Ingelheim's compoundTelmisartan for the prevention and treatment of stroke and myocardial infarction

London - 4 July 2011, London, UK: Ark Therapeutics Group plc ("Ark" or the "Company") announces that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has issued Notices of Allowance in respect of two patents for which certain rights have been assigned by Ark to Boehringer Ingelheim. The patents cover the use of Boehringer Ingelheim's compound Telmisartan for the prevention and treatment of stroke and the prevention of myocardial infarction related heart damage.

Formal grant of these patents by the USPTO is expected in the next two months and will trigger significant milestone payments to Ark under the license agreement which Ark and Boehringer Ingelheim entered into in 2005.

Martyn Williams, Chief Executive of Ark commented: "This is excellent news for both Ark and Boehringer Ingelheim and is a validation of our intellectual property. Receipt of these milestones will be an important contribution towards Ark achieving its short term objectives."

For further information please contact:

 
             Ark Therapeutics Group                  Tel: + 44 (0)20 7388 7722 
             plc 
             Martyn Williams, CEO 
             Iain Ross, Chairman 
 
             Financial Dynamics                      Tel: [phone] 
             Ben Atwell 
             Susan Quigley 
 

Ark Therapeutics Group plc

Ark Therapeutics Group plc is a specialist healthcare group (the "Group") addressing high value areas of unmet medical need within vascular disease and cancer. These are large and growing markets, where opportunities exist for effective new products to generate significant revenues.

Ark has an early stage pipeline emanating from collaborations with University College, London and the AI Virtanen Institute in Kuopio, Finland, the development of which it intends to progress in collaboration with pharmaceutical and biotech partners.

In addition Ark has the ability to off-set a proportion of its R&D costs and to generate sustainable revenues through the exploitation of its proprietary technology platform, process development, scale-up and manufacturing capabilities on behalf of third parties.

Ark has its origins in businesses established in the mid-1990s by Professor John Martin and Mr Stephen Barker of University College London and Professor Seppo Yla-Herttuala of the AI Virtanen Institute at the University of Kuopio, Finland, all of whom remain consultants on the Company's research and development programmes.

Ark's shares were first listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2004 (AKT.L).

US Patent Attorneys

Ark was advised by Mark Pohl Esq. of Pharmaceutical Patent Attorneys, LLC in respect of the prosecution of these US renin-angiotensin system patents.

This announcement includes "forward-looking statements" which include all statements other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, those regarding the Group's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives relating to the Group's products and services), and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include forward-looking terminology such as the words "targets", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "can", "may", "anticipates", "would", "should", "could" or similar expressions or the negative thereof. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the Group's control that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Group's present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Group will operate in the future. Among the important factors that could cause the Group's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include those relating to Ark's funding requirements, regulatory approvals, clinical trials, reliance on third parties, intellectual property, key personnel and other factors. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement. The Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any change in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. As a result of these factors, readers are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statement.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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