Ixico Regulatory News (IXI)

1 Mar 2007 15:37

Phytopharm PLC01 March 2007 Company Contact: U.K. Investor Relations Contact:Phytopharm plc Financial DynamicsDr Daryl Rees CEO David YatesMr Piers Morgan CFO Ben Atwell+44 1480 437 697 +44 207 831 3113www.phytopharm.com Placing of New Ordinary Shares raises £1.7 million GODMANCHESTER, Cambridgeshire, U.K. (1March 2007) - Phytopharm plc (LSE: PYM) ("Phytopharm" or the "Company") today announces that it has raised approximately£1.7 million before expenses (£1.5 million after expenses) by way of aconditional placing (the "Placing") of 4,425,416 new ordinary shares of 1 penceeach in the Company ("Ordinary Shares"). The proceeds will be used tostrengthen the Company's balance sheet and continue the development of itsproducts. Phytopharm has a strong product development portfolio, in particular its Hoodiagordonii functional food for dietary weight loss which is partnered globallywith Unilever, and its Myogane and Cogane pharmaceutical neurological products,which are currently in Phase I and II clinical development respectively.Phytopharm also has a global partnership with Schering Plough for its veterinaryproduct, PhytopicaTM, which is currently marketed in the UK with launchesanticipated in major European territories in the second quarter of 2007. The Placing represents 8.65 per cent. of the Company's issued share capitalprior to the Placing. The new Ordinary Shares have been placed with a range ofinstitutional investors by Teather & Greenwood Limited at a placing price of 38pence per new Ordinary Share, which is within the quoted bid / offer spreadprice on the London Stock Exchange at 12.00 noon today. The Placing wasundertaken pursuant to a resolution of shareholders at the Company's AnnualGeneral Meeting on 23 January 2006 which approved the disapplication ofshareholders' pre-emption rights in relation to 10 per cent. of the then issuedshare capital of the Company. Application will be made on 2nd March 2007 for the new Ordinary Shares to beadmitted to the Official List and to the London Stock Exchange for such sharesto be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listedsecurities ("Admission"). The Placing is conditional on Admission, which isexpected to become effective on 7 March 2007. When issued, the new OrdinaryShares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing OrdinaryShares. Following the Placing, Phytopharm will have a total of 55,606,309Ordinary Shares in issue. -ENDS- NOTES TO EDITORS Phytopharm plc Phytopharm is a pharmaceutical development and functional food company whoseproduct leads are generated from medicinal plant extracts. The Company'sstrategy is to develop these products through 'proof of principle' clinicaltesting, and then secure partners for late stage development, sales andmarketing. This business model benefits from a lean cash burn. Laboratory,manufacturing and clinical work is outsourced to selected specialists, operatingunder expert in-house management. This operational structure allows access toadvanced research techniques whilst maintaining low fixed overheads and a lowerdevelopment cost structure. For further information about Phytopharm please see our website at http://www.phytopharm.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange