Patent Grants in Japan & China for TYK2 Inhibitors

SAREUM HOLDINGS PLC

("Sareum" or "the Company")

Patent Grants in Japan and China for Sareum's TYK2 Inhibitors

Sareum (AIM: SAR), the specialist cancer drug discovery and development business, is pleased to announce that the Japanese Patent Office has granted a patent for inventions associated with Sareum's TYK2 Kinase Inhibitor Programme, and that the Chinese Patent Office has issued notification that such a patent will be granted subject to certain formalities being completed.

This patent* describes compounds that inhibit JAK kinase enzyme function, in particular TYK2 kinase. It also describes the use of these compounds in the treatment of disease mediated by these kinase enzymes, including autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease.

The granting of the Japanese patent and the imminent granting of the Chinese patent mean that Sareum will have approved patent protection in Japan and China for its TYK2 inhibitor programme. Similar patent protection in Europe was announced on 10 November 2014 and the Company expects that similar patents will be granted in other major markets, including the USA, in due course.

* Japanese Patent no. 6239118, Chinese Patent Application no. 201380080517X

Sareum's CSO, Dr John Reader, commented: "The granting of this patent in Japan and China is a key step in securing the protection of the intellectual property for our TYK2 programme in all major markets and it enhances the value of this programme as we progress discussions with potential licensing partners."

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Notes for editors: 

Sareum is a specialist drug discovery and development company delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics, focusing on cancer and autoimmune disease, and generating value through licensing them to international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies at the preclinical or early clinical trials stage.

Its most advanced programme, SRA737, is a novel Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) inhibitor licensed to NASDAQ-listed Sierra Oncology and in clinical trials targeting a range of advanced cancers. The key role of Chk1 in cancer cell replication and DNA damage repair suggests that SRA737 may have broad application as a targeted therapy in combination with other oncology and immune-oncology drugs in genetically defined patients.

Sareum is also advancing programmes to develop novel tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitors in autoimmune diseases and cancers, and Aurora+FLT3 inhibitors in haematological cancers, which are in the IND-enabling preclinical and lead optimisation stages.

The Company's drug discovery technology platform (SKIL® - Sareum Kinase Inhibitor Library) is being applied to generate drug research programmes against other kinase targets.

Sareum Holdings plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, trading under the ticker SAR. For further information, please visit www.sareum.co.uk

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