Hutchmed Regulatory News (HCM)

6 Aug 2008 07:00



Hutchison China MediTech Limited ("Chi-Med")

(AIM: HCM)

Drug R&D Division

New employee share option scheme in Hutchison MediPharma 

London: Wednesday, 6 August 2008: Chi-Med, today announces the establishment of a stand-alone Employee Share Option Scheme (the "Scheme") in Hutchison MediPharma Holdings Limited ("HMHL"), its wholly-owned subsidiary, which holds Chi-Med's 100% indirect shareholding in Hutchison MediPharma Limited ("HMPL"), Chi-Med's Drug R&D business. 

Any employee or director of HMHL or an affiliated company is eligible to participate in the Scheme. Actual participation is at the discretion of the HMHL board, which may grant options to acquire existing shares in HMHL (the "Shares") of up to 20% of the Shares in issue from time to time. An Initial grant of 4,542,000 share options, or 15.14% of HMHL's current total 30,000,000 issued Shares (the "Initial Grant"), has been made to more than 60 senior and middle level employees of HMPL at an exercise price of US$1.28 per share. The share options under the Initial Grant will vest entirely over a four-year period and may be exercised within a period of up to 6 years from the date of its grant. Unless the Scheme is terminated earlier pursuant to the rules of the Scheme, the Scheme shall be valid from the date of its adoption up to the earlier of the day of the listing of the Shares and 6 years after such adoption date. Chi-Med will transfer or procure the transfer of the Shares to the option holders upon exercise of their options in accordance with the Scheme rules. 

It is Chi-Med's intention that the HMHL Scheme will replace the existing Chi-Med employee share option scheme as the sole share based incentive programme for HMPL employees. Consequently, HMPL employees currently holding a total of 467,587 unvested Chi-Med share options (approximately 1% of Chi-Med's total issued shares) have surrendered these options. These grantees have all been offered share options in the Initial Grant.  

Christian Hogg, CEO of Chi-Med, said:

"Over the past five years, we have built Hutchison MediPharma, to be one of China's leading drug research and development operations in the oncology and auto-immune disease areas - one that is also world recognised. The steps we are now taking improve our flexibility to drive Hutchison MediPharma's value creation, reinforce its positioning as a "pure play" life science business and strengthen the alignment of management and shareholders interests."

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About Chi-Med

Chi-Med is the holding company of a pharmaceutical and healthcare group based primarily in China and was admitted to trading on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in May 2006. It is focused on researching, developing, manufacturing, and selling pharmaceuticals, health supplements and other consumer health and personal care products derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine and botanical ingredients. 

Chi-Med is majority owned by Hutchison Whampoa Limited, an international company listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.