Verona Pharma to Present Clinical Trial Data of RPL554 for COPD Maintenance Treatment at American Thoracic Society 2018 International Conference


LONDON, May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verona Pharma plc (AIM:VRP) (Nasdaq:VRNA) (“Verona Pharma”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for respiratory diseases, announces that it will present data from its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinical trial program with lead product candidate, RPL554, at the American Thoracic Society International Conference (ATS) in San Diego, CA from May 18-23, 2018.

RPL554 is a first-in-class, inhaled, dual inhibitor of the enzymes phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 designed to have anti-inflammatory as well as bronchodilator properties, and is currently in development for the maintenance treatment of COPD and for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Details of the Company’s poster presentations are listed below and the abstracts are available to the public online at the American Thoracic Society website (http://conference.thoracic.org/).

Rapid Abstract Poster Discussion Session (Abstract 4227, Poster 9964): RPL554, A First-In-Class Dual PDE3/4 Inhibitor, Causes Rapid Additional Bronchodilation When Dosed with Tiotropium in COPD Patients
Session Title: Clinical Trials and Studies in COPD (B102)
Date and Time: Monday, May 21, 2018; 2:15 PM - 4:15 PM PDT
Location: San Diego Convention Center, Room 30 C-E (Upper Level)

Thematic Poster Session (Abstract 3022, Poster 9880): Low Oral Bioavailability of RPL554, a First-in-Class Dual PDE3/4 Inhibitor, Demonstrates that Its Nebulized, Inhaled Formulation Is Appropriate for Delivering Optimal Pulmonary Dose
Session Title: COPD: Maintenance Therapy (B33) 
Date and Time: Monday, May 21, 2018; 9:15 AM - 4:15 PM PDT 
Location: San Diego Convention Center, Area L (Hall A-B2, Ground Level)

About COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and life-threatening respiratory disease for which there is no cure.1 The condition damages the airways and the lungs, leading to persistent breathlessness, impacting a person’s daily life and their ability to perform simple activities such as walking a short flight of stairs or carrying a suitcase.1 Although COPD is thought to be underdiagnosed, globally, around 384 million people suffer from the disease.2 This number, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is likely to increase in coming years, with estimates that COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.1,3 Current COPD therapies focus on reducing and controlling symptoms. Yet, despite the wide availability of these treatments, many patients continue to suffer acute periods of worsening symptoms known as exacerbations. These exacerbations often lead to emergency department visits or hospital admissions and are also associated with high mortality.4 In the United States alone, the 2010 total annual medical costs related to COPD were estimated to be $32 billion and are projected to rise to $49 billion in 2020.5

About Verona Pharma plc
Verona Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs. Verona Pharma’s product candidate, RPL554, is a first-in-class, inhaled, dual inhibitor of the enzymes phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 that acts as both a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound. In clinical trials, treatment with RPL554 has been observed to result in statistically significant improvements in lung function as compared to placebo, and has shown clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in lung function when administered in addition to frequently used short- and long-acting bronchodilators as compared to such bronchodilators administered as a single agent. Verona Pharma is developing RPL554 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF), and potentially asthma.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the value of trial results presented at ATS, RPL554 as a new complementary treatment for patients with COPD, projected annual medical costs related to COPD, the future clinical development and positioning of RPL554, and the treatment potential for RPL554.

These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from our expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our limited operating history; our need for additional funding to complete development and commercialization of RPL554, which may not be available and which may force us to delay, reduce or eliminate our development or commercialization efforts; the reliance of our business on the success of RPL554, our only product candidate under development; economic, political, regulatory and other risks involved with international operations; the lengthy and expensive process of clinical drug development, which has an uncertain outcome; serious adverse, undesirable or unacceptable side effects associated with RPL554, which could adversely affect our ability to develop or commercialize RPL554; potential delays in enrolling patients, which could adversely affect our research and development efforts; we may not be successful in developing RPL554 for multiple indications; our ability to obtain approval for and commercialize RPL554 in multiple major pharmaceutical markets; misconduct or other improper activities by our employees, consultants, principal investigators, and third-party service providers; material differences between our “top-line” data and final data; our reliance on third parties, including clinical investigators, manufacturers and suppliers, and the risks related to these parties’ ability to successfully develop and commercialize RPL554; and lawsuits related to patents covering RPL554 and the potential for our patents to be found invalid or unenforceable. These and other important factors under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 27, 2018 relating to our Registration Statement on Form F-1, and our other reports filed with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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1 World Health Organization. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs315/en/. Accessed September 2017. 
2 Adeloye D, Chua S, et al. Global and regional estimates of COPD prevalence: Systematic review and meta–analysis. J Glob Health 2015; 5(2): 020415. 
3 World Health Organization. Burden of COPD. http://www.who.int/respiratory/copd/burden/en/. Accessed September 2017. 
4 COPD Foundations. Characteristics of COPD Patients Using United States Emergency Care or Hospitalization. https://journal.copdfoundation.org/jcopdf/id/1103/Characteristics-of-COPD-Patients-Using-United-States-Emergency-Care-or-Hospitalization. Accessed September 2017. 
5 Center for Disease Control. Increase Expected in Medical Costs for COPD. https://www.cdc.gov/features/ds-copd-costs/. Accessed September 2017.

For further information, please contact: 

Verona Pharma plcTel: +44 (0)20 3283 4200
Jan-Anders Karlsson, Chief Executive Officerinfo@veronapharma.com
  
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nominated Adviser and UK Broker)Tel: +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Stewart Wallace / Jonathan Senior / Ben MaddisonSNELVeronaPharma@stifel.com
  
FTI Consulting (UK Media and Investor enquiries)Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1000
Simon Conway / Natalie Garland-Collinsveronapharma@fticonsulting.com
  
ICR, Inc. (US Media and Investor enquiries) 
James HeinsTel: +1 203-682-8251
 James.Heins@icrinc.com
Stephanie CarringtonTel: +1 646-277-1282
 Stephanie.Carrington@icrinc.com