Vernalis PLC Regulatory News (VER)

16 December 2010

LSE: VER

Vernalis plc and H.Lundbeck A/S enter into

Drug Discovery Collaboration

Vernalis plc (LSE: VER), and H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) today announce that they have entered into a drug discovery collaboration utilising Vernalis' fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform against LRRK2, a kinase target. Inhibitors of this target may have potential utility in the treatment of neurodegenerative indications, such as Parkinson's Disease.

Under the terms of the collaboration Vernalis will receive fees and a potential share in the downstream success of the product in the form of milestones and royalties on sales. The financial terms of this collaboration are not disclosed.

Ian Garland, CEO of Vernalis, commented: "We are delighted to be working with Lundbeck and look forward to a close working relationship over the course of the collaboration. The collaboration announced today further endorses the quality of our fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform and continues our success in securing collaborations that allow us to maintain a balanced investment in research."

"Lundbeck will get access to a state of the art platform for fragment based drug discovery and structural biology. This combined with their experience for discovering Kinase inhibitors and Lundbeck CNS experience will ensure a strong alliance towards finding novel medicines" said Klaus Bæk Simonsen, Head of Discovery Chemistry at H. Lundbeck A/S.

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Notes to Editors

About LundbeckH. Lundbeck A/S (LUN.CO, LUN DC, HLUKY) is an international pharmaceutical company highly committed to improving the quality of life for people suffering from central nervous system (CNS) disorders. For this purpose, Lundbeck is engaged in the research and development, production, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world. The company's products are targeted at disorders such as depression and anxiety, schizophrenia, insomnia, epilepsy and Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Lundbeck was founded in 1915 by Hans Lundbeck in Copenhagen, Denmark. Today Lundbeck employs approximately 5,900 people worldwide. Lundbeck is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies working with CNS disorders. In 2009, the company's revenue was DKK 13.7 billion (approximately EUR 1.8 billion or USD 2.6 billion). For more information, please visit www.lundbeck.com.

About Vernalis

Vernalis is a development stage pharmaceutical company with significant expertise in taking promising product candidates along a commercially-focused path to market. The Group has one marketed product, frovatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine, and nine candidates in development, six of which are designated priority programmes. Three of these priority programmes are currently unpartnered and three are partnered. Pipeline programmes are derived from both our own research activities where we have significant expertise in fragment and structure based drug discovery, as well as from collaborations. Our technologies, capabilities and products are endorsed by collaborations with Biogen Idec, Chiesi, Endo, GSK, Menarini, Novartis and Servier.

For further information about Vernalis, please visit www.vernalis.com

Vernalis Forward-Looking Statement

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events including the clinical development and regulatory clearance of the Company's products, the Company's ability to find partners for the development and commercialisation of its products, as well as the Company's future capital raising activities. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Company's research strategies, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the ability of the Company to identify and agree beneficial terms with suitable partners for the commercialisation and/or development of its products, as well as the achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, the acceptance of Frova® and other products by consumers and medical professionals, the successful integration of completed mergers and acquisitions and achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, and the ability of the Company to identify and consummate suitable strategic and business combination transactions.