Verona Pharma plc Verona Pharma Plc : Miscellaneous

 
TIDMVRP 
 
 
   LONDON, May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verona Pharma plc (AIM:VRP) 
(Nasdaq:VRNA) ("Verona Pharma"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical 
company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies 
for respiratory diseases, announces that it will present data from its 
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinical trial program with 
lead product candidate, RPL554, at the American Thoracic Society 
International Conference (ATS) in San Diego, CA from May 18-23, 2018. 
 
   RPL554 is a first-in-class, inhaled, dual inhibitor of the enzymes 
phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 designed to have anti-inflammatory as well as 
bronchodilator properties, and is currently in development for the 
maintenance treatment of COPD and for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. 
 
   Details of the Company's poster presentations are listed below and the 
abstracts are available to the public online at the American Thoracic 
Society website (http://conference.thoracic.org/). 
 
   Rapid Abstract Poster Discussion Session (Abstract 4227, Poster 9964): 
RPL554, A First-In-Class Dual PDE3/4 Inhibitor, Causes Rapid Additional 
Bronchodilation When Dosed with Tiotropium in COPD Patients 
 
   Session Title: Clinical Trials and Studies in COPD (B102) 
 
   Date and Time: Monday, May 21, 2018; 2:15 PM - 4:15 PM PDT 
 
   Location: San Diego Convention Center, Room 30 C-E (Upper Level) 
 
   Thematic Poster Session (Abstract 3022, Poster 9880): Low Oral 
Bioavailability of RPL554, a First-in-Class Dual PDE3/4 Inhibitor, 
Demonstrates that Its Nebulized, Inhaled Formulation Is Appropriate for 
Delivering Optimal Pulmonary Dose 
 
   Session Title: COPD: Maintenance Therapy (B33) 
 
   Date and Time: Monday, May 21, 2018; 9:15 AM - 4:15 PM PDT 
 
   Location: San Diego Convention Center, Area L (Hall A-B2, Ground Level) 
 
   About COPD 
 
   Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and 
life-threatening respiratory disease for which there is no cure.(1)  The 
condition damages the airways and the lungs, leading to persistent 
breathlessness, impacting a person's daily life and their ability to 
perform simple activities such as walking a short flight of stairs or 
carrying a suitcase.(1)  Although COPD is thought to be underdiagnosed, 
globally, around 384 million people suffer from the disease.(2)  This 
number, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is likely to 
increase in coming years, with estimates that COPD will become the third 
leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.(1,3)  Current COPD therapies 
focus on reducing and controlling symptoms. Yet, despite the wide 
availability of these treatments, many patients continue to suffer acute 
periods of worsening symptoms known as exacerbations. These 
exacerbations often lead to emergency department visits or hospital 
admissions and are also associated with high mortality.(4)  In the 
United States alone, the 2010 total annual medical costs related to COPD 
were estimated to be $32 billion and are projected to rise to $49 
billion in 2020.(5) 
 
   About Verona Pharma plc 
 
   Verona Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on 
developing and commercializing innovative therapies for the treatment of 
respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs. Verona 
Pharma's product candidate, RPL554, is a first-in-class, inhaled, dual 
inhibitor of the enzymes phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 that acts as both a 
bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound. In 
clinical trials, treatment with RPL554 has been observed to result in 
statistically significant improvements in lung function as compared to 
placebo, and has shown clinically meaningful and statistically 
significant improvements in lung function when administered in addition 
to frequently used short- and long-acting bronchodilators as compared to 
such bronchodilators administered as a single agent. Verona Pharma is 
developing RPL554 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary 
disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF), and potentially asthma. 
 
   Forward-Looking Statements 
 
   This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements 
contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of 
historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, 
including, but not limited to, statements regarding the value of trial 
results presented at ATS, RPL554 as a new complementary treatment for 
patients with COPD, projected annual medical costs related to COPD, the 
future clinical development and positioning of RPL554, and the treatment 
potential for RPL554. 
 
   These forward-looking statements are based on management's current 
expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but 
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important 
factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements 
to be materially different from our expectations expressed or implied by 
the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the 
following: our limited operating history; our need for additional 
funding to complete development and commercialization of RPL554, which 
may not be available and which may force us to delay, reduce or 
eliminate our development or commercialization efforts; the reliance of 
our business on the success of RPL554, our only product candidate under 
development; economic, political, regulatory and other risks involved 
with international operations; the lengthy and expensive process of 
clinical drug development, which has an uncertain outcome; serious 
adverse, undesirable or unacceptable side effects associated with 
RPL554, which could adversely affect our ability to develop or 
commercialize RPL554; potential delays in enrolling patients, which 
could adversely affect our research and development efforts; we may not 
be successful in developing RPL554 for multiple indications; our ability 
to obtain approval for and commercialize RPL554 in multiple major 
pharmaceutical markets; misconduct or other improper activities by our 
employees, consultants, principal investigators, and third-party service 
providers; material differences between our "top-line" data and final 
data; our reliance on third parties, including clinical investigators, 
manufacturers and suppliers, and the risks related to these parties' 
ability to successfully develop and commercialize RPL554; and lawsuits 
related to patents covering RPL554 and the potential for our patents to 
be found invalid or unenforceable. These and other important factors 
under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 27, 2018 
relating to our Registration Statement on Form F-1, and our other 
reports filed with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ 
materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made 
in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent 
management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we 
may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the 
future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events 
cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not 
be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to 
the date of this press release. 
 
   ______________________________ 
 
   (1)  World Health Organization. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. 
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs315/en/. Accessed September 
2017. 
 
   (2)  Adeloye D, Chua S, et al. Global and regional estimates of COPD 
prevalence: Systematic review and meta-analysis. J Glob Health 2015; 
5(2): 020415. 
 
   (3)  World Health Organization. Burden of COPD. 
http://www.who.int/respiratory/copd/burden/en/. Accessed September 2017. 
 
 
   (4)  COPD Foundations. Characteristics of COPD Patients Using United 
States Emergency Care or Hospitalization. 
https://journal.copdfoundation.org/jcopdf/id/1103/Characteristics-of-COPD-Patients-Using-United-States-Emergency-Care-or-Hospitalization. 
Accessed September 2017. 
 
   (5)  Center for Disease Control. Increase Expected in Medical Costs for 
COPD. https://www.cdc.gov/features/ds-copd-costs/. Accessed September 
2017. 
 
   For further information, please contact: 
 
 
 
 
Verona Pharma plc                                  Tel: [phone] 
Jan-Anders Karlsson, Chief Executive Officer       [e-mail] 
 
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nominated Adviser  Tel: [phone] 
 and UK Broker) 
Stewart Wallace / Jonathan Senior / Ben Maddison   [e-mail] 
 
FTI Consulting (UK Media and Investor enquiries)   Tel: [phone] 
Simon Conway / Natalie Garland-Collins             veronapharma@fticonsulting. 
                                                   com 
 
ICR, Inc. (US Media and Investor enquiries) 
James Heins                                        Tel: [phone] 
                                                   [e-mail] 
Stephanie Carrington                               Tel: [phone] 
                                                   Stephanie.Carrington@icrinc 
                                                   .com 
 
 
 
 
   This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf 
of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. 
 
   The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely 
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information 
contained therein. 
 
   Source: Verona Pharma plc via Globenewswire 
 
 
  http://www.veronapharma.com/ 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2018 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT)

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