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17 Oct 2008 15:34
Silence Therapeutics plc
Annual General Meeting Statement
London, October 17, 2008 - Silence Therapeutics plc ("the Company") announces that the Annual General Meeting of shareholders of the Company was held this morning. All resolutions put to the shareholders at the meeting were passed.
In an update to shareholders, Chairman and CEO Iain Ross said the Company anticipates that clinical trials on its lead internal programme Atu027 for solid tumours will start in 2009. The Company has sent a briefing to the German regulatory authorities and has commenced discussions in preparation for submission of a full application package. This follows the successful completion of the Company's pre-clinical programme for Atu027, an siRNA systemically delivered using Atuplex, the Company's proprietary lipoplex technology .
At the same time, the Company continues to strengthen its intellectual property position both by obtaining its own patents in the US and Europe and through the reduction in scope of third party patents, as a crucial component of its offering to potential licensees. The Company also confirmed that it has filed patent applications for additional targets that will enable it to broaden its proprietary pipeline.
In conclusion, Mr Ross said: "Our portfolio of siRNA assets has never been stronger and we look forward to concluding further partnerships with third parties."
- Ends - Enquiries:
For further information, please contact the following:
Silence Therapeutics plc Powerscourt +44(0)20 7307 1620 +44(0)20 7250 1446 Iain Ross, Chairman & CEO Paul Durman Melvyn Davies, Finance Director Kay Larsen Nominated Advisers Nomura Code Securities Limited +44(0)20 7776 1200 Chris Collins
About Silence Therapeutics plc (www.silence-therapeutics.com)
Silence Therapeutics plc (AIM: SLN) is a leading European RNAi-focused biotechnology company.
RNA interference (RNAi), is a Nobel Prize winning technology and one of the most exciting areas of drug discovery today. It represents a completely new approach to selectively 'silence' or inactivate disease relevant genes and as such it has the potential to create a new class of therapeutic products. RNAi could therefore offer a therapeutic approach to a broad range of diseases (cancer, infectious diseases, inherited diseases), many of which have been regarded as incurable and are not addressed by current therapeutics, therefore providing a large market opportunity.
Silence Therapeutics has developed a platform of novel short interfering RNA ('siRNA') molecules, AtuRNAi, which provide a number of advantages over conventional siRNA molecules, including increased stability against nuclease degradation. In addition, the Company has developed a proprietary systemic delivery system, AtuPLEX. This system enables the functional delivery of siRNA molecules to targeted diseased tissues and cells, while increasing their bioavailability and intracellular uptake.
Following the granting of its patents in Europe, the USA and Australia, Silence Therapeutics is one of only two companies worldwide with a proprietary position on composition of matter for siRNA therapeutics.
Silence's lead internal product, Atu027, is a proprietary AtuRNAi molecule in preclinical development for systemic cancer indications. Atu027 has successfully completed single and repeat dose toxicology and geno-toxicology studies, as well as a 28-day toxicology study using multiple dosing regimens. Silence plans a regulatory filing in 2008 to commence clinical trials for Atu027.
In March 2008 Silence Therapeutics announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca focused on the development of a range of novel delivery approaches for siRNA molecules. Under the terms of the agreement both Silence Therapeutics and AstraZeneca will be allowed to commercialize the truly novel delivery systems that the two partners develop together.
Silence Therapeutics has granted a licence to AstraZeneca to develop novel AtuRNAi therapeutics against five specific targets. This collaboration was the first industry validation of the potential application of Silence Therapeutics' proprietary AtuRNAi molecules and solidified the Company's leadership position in field of RNAi therapeutics.
The Company's AtuRNAi technology also has been sublicensed to Pfizer via Quark's license to them of the compound RTP-801i-14 for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and a number of other indications. This compound entered a phase II clinical study in July 2008. Silence Therapeutics also has licensed to Quark rights to the AtuRNAi structure for Quark's proprietary compound, AKIi-5, which is in a Phase I human clinical study for treatment of acute kidney injury.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. All forward--looking statements are based on information currently available to Silence Therapeutics and Silence Therapeutics assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
Silence Therapeutics is based in London, UK, and Berlin, Germany, and is listed on AIM.
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