VRP.L Regulatory News (VRP)

Verona Pharma plc ("Verona Pharma" or the "Company") RPL554 Presentations at the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress, Barcelona, Spain 7-11 September 2013 London, UK, 5 September 2013 - Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP), the drugdevelopment company focused on "first-in-class" medicines to treat respiratorydiseases, announces that two presentations discussing results from successfullycompleted RPL554 clinical trials will be presented at the upcoming EuropeanRespiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona, Spain 7-11 September2013. An oral presentation, discussing the anti-inflammatory effects of RPL554 fromthe clinical study completed earlier this year, will form part of the sessionentitled "Hot topics in airway disease: New horizons in treatment". A posterdescribing safety and bronchodilator effects from a phase I/II clinical studyof the drug in patients with mild allergic asthma and rhinitis will also bepresented. Both the oral presentation and the poster support Verona Pharma's view thatRPL554 could become an important, novel and complementary inhaled medicine forthe treatment of such respiratory diseases as asthma and COPD, either asmonotherapy, or as an addition to existing therapies. The Company is initiallyprogressing further development of the drug, in nebulised form, as a treatmentfor severe COPD, a significant unmet medical need. The ERS Annual Congress is the largest respiratory meeting in the world, withdelegates attending from more than 100 countries. All abstracts and details ontimings can be accessed through the ERS website: http://www.erscongress2013.org The title, timing and location of the poster presentations are as follows Abstract P708 Title: Bronchodilator effect of a novel inhaled dual PDE3/4 inhibitor, RPL554, in mild allergic asthma & rhinitis Authors: Z. Diamant, L. Franciosi, N. Morelli, R. Zuiker, I. Kamerling, M. de Kam, K. Burggraaf, A. Cohen, M. Walker, C. Page (Lund, Sweden; Groningen, Leiden, Netherlands; London, United Kingdom; Vancouver, Canada) Session Info: Session 82-Thematic Poster Session : Asthma and COPD drugs: efficacy, safety and pharmacoeconomics Day/Date: Sunday, 08 September, 2013 Session Time: 12:50-14:40 CET Location : Hall 1-10 Abstract 1969 Title: Anti-inflammatory effect of a novel inhaled dual PDE3/4 inhibitor RPL554 in man, a unique "first-in-class" drug for the treatment of COPD & asthma Authors: D. Singh, F. Reid, L. Franciosi, M. Walker, C. Page (Manchester, London, United Kingdom; Vancouver, Canada) Session Info: Session 220-Oral Presentation : Hot topics on airway diseases: new horizons in treatment Day/Date: Monday, 09 September, 2013 Session Time: 10:45-12:45 CET Location : Room 2.4 -Ends- For further information please contact: Verona Pharma plc Tel: 020 7863 3300 Clive Page, Chairman Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO Richard Bungay, CFO WH Ireland Limited Tel: 020 7220 1666 Chris Fielding Nick Field FTI Consulting Tel: 020 7831 3113 Julia Phillips Simon Conway Notes to Editors About Verona Pharma plc Verona Pharma is developing first-in-class drugs to treat respiratory disease,such as COPD, asthma and chronic, severe cough. The Company has three drugprogrammes, two of which are in Phase II. The lead programme, RPL554, is aninnovative dual phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibitor with bothbronchodilator and anti-inflammatory properties. VRP700 is an innovativeproduct for suppressing chronic, severe cough in patients with underlying lungdisease. In its third programme, Verona Pharma is investigating novelanti-inflammatory molecules, called NAIPs, for a wide range of respiratory andinflammatory diseases. About RPL554 for the treatment of COPD and Asthma Verona's lead drug, RPL554, is a dual phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibitorbeing developed as a novel treatment for chronic obstructive airways diseasesuch as COPD and asthma with bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory effects. Botheffects are essential to improve symptoms in patients with COPD or asthma.RPL554 is currently in phase II for both diseases. COPD is a chronic lung disease with significant unmet need for which currenttreatment is far from optimal, as it often has unwanted side-effects and/orlimited effectiveness. COPD is most commonly characterised by fixed airflowobstruction and chronic airways inflammation resulting from exposure toirritants like tobacco smoke. Asthma, which remains one of the most commonchronic diseases in the world, is characterised by recurrent breathing problemsand symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing.The market for COPD and asthma drugs is currently estimated to be GBP20 billion[source: visiongain]. About VRP700 for the treatment of Cough VRP700 is Verona Pharma's lead drug compound for the treatment of cough, havinga novel mechanism of action involving the suppression of cough initiatingsignals originating from cough sensory nerve endings located in the lungs. Aclinical trial completed at the University of Florence, Italy in September 2011clearly demonstrated significant anti-tussive effects with nebulised VRP700 inhospitalized patients with chronic severe cough. Cough can be a very debilitating comorbidity reported by patients, especiallythose with respiratory conditions such as asthma, COPD, lung cancer,interstitial lung disease, fibrosis or lung infections. It is a neglectedsymptom which is often self-medicated. Consumer spending on OTC medications,including those for cough, grew by 10% over 2005-10, to reach GBP532 million inUK [source: Mintel]. However, there is very little clinical evidence for suchOTC cough medications being really effective and it is widely recognised by themedical community that there is a large need for more effective drugs tocontrol and prevent pathologically induced coughing.