WINNERSH, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Oct 1, 2013) -

1 October 2013

LSE: VER

Vernalis plc enters into research collaboration with Asahi Kasei Pharma

Vernalis plc (LSE: VER) announced today that it has entered into a drug
discovery collaboration with Asahi Kasei Pharma (AKP), utilizing
Vernalis' fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform against
an undisclosed target forrheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune
diseases.

The financial terms of this collaboration are not disclosed.

Ian Garland, CEO of Vernalis, commented: "We are delighted to be
selected by AKP to work with them on this target. This further
endorses our market leading fragment and structure-based drug discovery
platform and validates our strategy to fund our research activitiesthrough
collaborations. We look forward to a successful collaboration
with Asahi Kasei Pharma."

Osamu Matsuzaki, General Manager of Pharmaceuticals Research Center of
AKP said "We have been impressed by the extensive expertise of Vernalis
on SBDD and FBDD technologies. This collaboration greatly enhances
AKP's efforts on the development of novel treatment of autoimmune
diseases."

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Enquiries:

Vernalis Contacts:
Ian Garland, Chief Executive Officer         +44 (0) 118 938 0015
David Mackney, Chief Financial Officer

Oriel Securities Ltd:                         +44 (0)20 7710 7600
Jonathan Senior
Giles Balleny

Brunswick Group:                             +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
Jon Coles


Notes to Editors

About Asahi Kasei Pharma
Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a
research-based healthcare innovator that discovers, develops,
manufactures, and markets products for the pharmaceutical, diagnostics,
and medical nutrition markets. Asahi Kasei Pharma is a wholly owned
business unit of Asahi Kasei Corporation, a US$17 billion technology
company that provides innovative, science-based solutions to a diverse
range of markets including chemicals and plastics, apparel, housing and
construction, healthcare, and electronics. For more information, please
visit the Asahi Kasei Corporation website at  www.asahi-kasei.co.jp 


About Vernalis
Vernalis is a revenue generating development stage pharmaceutical
company with significant expertise in drug development. The Group has
one marketed product, frovatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine,
an exclusive licensing agreement to develop and commercialise multiple
novel products focussed on the US prescription cough cold market as
well as seven programmes in its NCE development pipeline. Vernalis has
also significant expertise in fragment and structure based drug
discovery which it leverages to enter into collaborations with larger
pharmaceutical companies. The Company's technologies, capabilities and
products have been endorsed over the last five years by collaborations
with leading pharmaceutical companies, including Biogen Idec, Endo,
GSK, Genentech, Lundbeck, Menarini, Novartis, Servier and Tris Pharma.

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 frovatriptan 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.







                    This information is provided by RNS
          The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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