Sareum Regulatory News (SAR)

2 May 2008 07:01

Sareum Holdings PLC02 May 2008 For immediate release 2 May 2008 Sareum Holdings PLC ("Sareum" or "Company") Strategic Review Sareum Holdings plc (AIM:SAR), the specialist structure-based drug discoverybusiness, announces that the Board is undertaking a strategic review to considerhow best to take the business forward. Sareum, which was formed in August 2003, employs a structure-based approach tothe discovery of new drugs for the treatment of cancer. In parallel, theCompany provides specialist drug discovery capabilities to partners in thepharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The Company has historically beenfunded via fee-for-service-contract revenues and funds raised through equityissues. The strategic review has been initiated by the Sareum Board for a number ofreasons, inter alia; • Difficult trading conditions resulting from a reticence in the research service sector, particularly in the USA, to use cash reserves to sponsor new research activities until financial conditions improve. Combined with a high level of M&A activity within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, this has tended to interfere with the decision making process for the initiation of new research programs. This was highlighted in Sareum's interim results statement for the six months ended 31 December 2007 which was released on 6 March 2008. • The current depressed share price in common with most "small cap" plcs; and • The Board has received approaches from parties interested in the Company's drug discovery business and in-house cancer drug discovery programs. The Sareum Board will be considering a number of options including; the sale ofall or part of the business, the raising of additional equity funds, enteringinto partnering arrangements, or the acquisition of a suitable business to givethe Company additional critical mass. The Board has appointed Grant ThorntonCorporate Finance as financial advisers to assist with this process. The Sareum Board intends to complete this evaluation process to ensure that thefuture strategy adopted is in the best interests of both shareholders andemployees. As and when a decision on the optimum future strategy for theCompany is reached, if appropriate, an announcement will be made. Accordingly, under the rules of the Takeover Code, Sareum is now in an offerperiod. Sareum confirms, pursuant to Rule 2.10 of the City Code on Takeoversand Mergers, that its issued share capital as at 2 May 2008 comprised818,097,713 ordinary shares of 0.025 pence each. The shares are traded on AIMunder International Securities Identification Number GB00B02RFS12. Dealing Disclosure Requirements Under the provisions of Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code ("the Code"), if anyperson is, or becomes, "interested" (directly or indirectly) in 1% or more ofany class of "relevant securities" of Sareum, all "dealings" in any "relevantsecurities" of that company (including by means of an option in respect of, or aderivative referenced to, any such "relevant securities") must be publiclydisclosed by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the London business dayfollowing the date of the relevant transaction. This requirement will continueuntil the date on which the offer becomes, or is declared, unconditional as toacceptances, lapses or is otherwise withdrawn or on which the "offer period"otherwise ends. If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement orunderstanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire an "interest" in "relevantsecurities" of Sareum, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purposeof Rule 8.3. Under the provisions of Rule 8.1 of the Code, all "dealings" in "relevantsecurities" of Sareum by any offeror, or by any of its respective "associates",must be disclosed by no later than 12.00 noon (London time) on the Londonbusiness day following the date of the relevant transaction. A disclosure table, giving details of the companies in whose "relevantsecurities" "dealings" should be disclosed, and the number of such securities inissue, can be found on the Takeover Panel's website atwww.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk. "Interests in securities" arise, in summary, when a person has long economicexposure, whether conditional or absolute, to changes in the price ofsecurities. In particular, a person will be treated as having an "interest" byvirtue of the ownership or control of securities, or by virtue of any option inrespect of, or derivative referenced to, securities. Terms in quotation marks are defined in the Code, which can also be found on thePanel's website. If you are in any doubt as to whether or not you are requiredto disclose a "dealing" under Rule 8, you should consult the Panel. ENDS For further information: Sareum Holdings plc 01223 497700 Tim Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000 Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson Grant Thornton Corporate Finance Charles E Cattaneo 07774 276512Philip Secrett, 020 7383 5100Colin Aaronson Sareum Holdings plc is a structure-based drug discovery business headquarteredin Cambridge, UK. The Company was formed in August 2003 to discover new drugsfor the treatment of cancer. Sareum's unique approach aims to halve the time ittakes to discover new drug candidates. A structure-based approach to drug discovery relies on knowledge of thethree-dimensional structure of the proteins that cause disease. Once thestructure is known, potential drugs are designed to 'lock-in' to the proteinwith the aim of reversing or arresting a disease's progression. Knowledge ofthe structure of the potential drugs and how they 'lock-in' to their targetprotein assists greatly in the development of high-quality drug candidates.Determining structure is a complex task and requires leading-edge equipment andexperienced staff. Sareum's approach to structure determination utilises itsproprietary protein expression platform in order to produce multiple recombinantproteins that accelerate structure determination using x-ray crystallography. Once the structure is determined, the Company's innovative fragment screeningplatform is used to identify novel chemical templates designed to interact withthe target protein. Sareum then uses its high-throughput medicinal chemistryplatform to rapidly optimise these molecules and develop the most promising intopotential drug candidates. Sareum aims to successfully deliver drug candidates for licensing to largerpharmaceutical companies at the pre-clinical or early clinical trials stage.This is funded by provision of its specialist drug discovery capabilities topartners in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Sareum joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2004 andtrades under the symbol SAR. For further information, please visitwww.sareum.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange