MPH.L Regulatory News (MPH)

Mereo BioPharma Group plc

("Mereo" or the "Company" or the "Group")

New Deferred Bonus Plan

London, 18 January 2019 - Mereo BioPharma Group plc (AIM: MPH), a clinical stage, UK-based, biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, announces that the Board has approved the terms of a new deferred bonus plan (the "Bonus Plan") which will be open to the Company's executive directors and certain members of the senior management team (the "Eligible Participants").

The rules of the Bonus Plan are such that in the event that the Board decides to award a bonus to Eligible Participants in respect of performance for any given financial year, 30 per cent. of the bonus (after deduction of income tax and employee's National Insurance contributions) must be used to purchase ordinary shares in the Company within 12 months. Following a purchase, the relevant ordinary shares must be held for a period of at least 2 years.

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About Mereo

Mereo is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics that aim to improve outcomes for patients with rare diseases. Mereo's strategy is to selectively acquire product candidates that have already received significant investment from pharmaceutical companies and that have substantial preclinical, clinical and manufacturing data packages. In December 2018, Mereo announced the proposed combination of Mereo and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc., with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2019. Each of Mereo's four product candidates has previously generated positive clinical data for Mereo's target indication or in a related indication. Since inception Mereo has commenced large, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trials for all four of the product candidates:

· BPS-804 for osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The Company recently announced completion of enrolment with 112 adult patients in a Phase 2b dose ranging study with some initial data expected in the H1 2019 and top-line dose ranging data in late 2019. A pediatric Phase 3 study design has also been approved by the EMA. BPS-804 has orphan designation in the US and EU and has been accepted into the PRIME and Adaptive Pathways in EU;

· MPH-966 for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The Company recently announced first patient in in a Phase 2 dose ranging study in the US with data expected in late 2019;

· BCT-197 for acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). The Company presented positive Phase 2 data at the American Thoracic Society in May, 2018;

· BGS-649 for hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH). The Company announced positive top-line Phase 2b data in March 2018. Positive data from the safety extension study to the Phase2b clinical trial was announced in December 2018; and

· As at September 30, 2018 Mereo had (unaudited) total cash resources of approximately US$44.6 million