Verona Pharma PLC Board Changes

 
TIDMVRP 
 
Verona Pharma plc 
 
                      ("Verona Pharma" or the "Company") 
 
Verona Pharma appoints Dr Ken Cunningham and Dr Anders Ullman as Non-Executive 
                                   Directors 
 
8 September 2015, Cardiff - Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP.L), the drug 
development company focused on first-in-class medicines to treat respiratory 
diseases, today announces the appointment of Ken Cunningham, MD and Anders 
Ullman, MD, PhD, as Non-Executive Directors of the Company with effect from 10 
September 2015. Dr Cunningham will replace Professor Jones as the Non-Executive 
Director appointed by the Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund under the 
Subscription and Shareholders Agreement entered into in March 2014 with the 
Company. Mr Stuart Bottomley and Ms Claire Poll will also retire from the 
Board, having been Directors of Verona Pharma since 2006. 
 
Dr Ken Cunningham, aged 62, has over 25 years' experience in the pharmaceutical 
industry including leadership roles at several companies focused on developing 
respiratory medicines. He is currently Non-Executive Chairman of Abzena plc 
(AIM: ABZA) and Non-Executive Director of Xention Pharma Ltd and was 
Non-Executive Chairman of Prosonix Ltd ahead of its recent sale to Circassia 
for GBP100m in June 2015. Between 2008 and 2010 Dr Cunningham was at SkyePharma 
plc, initially as Chief Operating Officer and subsequently as Chief Executive 
Officer where he was deeply involved in the late stage development of flutiform 
®  for asthma.  Between 2002 and 2005 he was Chief Executive Officer of Arakis 
Ltd, a drug re-profiling company which was subsequently sold to Sosei (TSE: 
4565) for GBP107m. The lead compound was then licensed to Novartis and following 
further development is currently under regulatory review by the FDA and is 
available in Europe as an orally inhaled drug for COPD under the name Seebri® 
and Ultibro®. Prior to this, Dr Cunningham was Vice-President European Affairs 
at Alza Corporation and Vice-President Clinical Development at Sequus Inc. 
Earlier in his career, he held a variety of clinical development and commercial 
strategy roles at GlaxoWellcome plc and Warner-Lambert. Dr Cunningham holds a 
Medical Degree from St Mary's, Imperial College, London University. 
 
Dr Anders Ullman, aged 59, is an experienced pharmaceutical executive who has 
worked at Board and Senior Management level at a number of companies 
internationally. He has extensive experience of product development and life 
cycle management and has been involved in successful product approvals 
including two with the FDA and one with the EMA. From 2013 to 2014, Dr Ullman 
was Head of R&D at Baxter Biosciences, based in Vienna, Austria. From 2007 to 
2013 he was EVP Head of R&D at Nycomed Pharma Pvt Limited where he led the 
development and approval of Daxas, the PDE4 inhibitor used to prevent COPD 
exacerbations. Following the sale of Nycomed to Takeda in 2011, he led the R&D 
transition team at Takeda Pharmaceuticals International GmbH. Prior to his time 
at Nycomed, Dr Ullman was Head of R&D at Biovitrum AB and EVP Global Product 
Development at Bayer Healthcare while earlier in his career he held a number of 
roles of increasing responsibility in AstraZeneca exiting as VP Global Clinical 
Function. 
 
Ms Claire Poll, Executive Director, and Mr Stuart Bottomley and Professor 
Trevor Jones, both Non-Executive Directors, will retire from the Verona Pharma 
Board after having served since 2006. Ms Poll will continue to provide legal 
and corporate services to the Company. 
 
Dr David Ebsworth, Non-Executive Chairman of Verona Pharma commented, "The 
Board would like to thank Claire, Stuart and Trevor for their many years of 
hard work and support. Their long tenure is testament to the value of their 
advice and their numerous contributions on many fronts. They have all been 
instrumental in nurturing the Company as it progressed its pipeline into the 
clinic. We warmly wish them the very best for the future. 
 
"We are delighted to welcome to the Board of Verona Pharma Dr Anders Ullman and 
Dr Ken Cunningham. Both are respected industry leaders with invaluable 
expertise in the field of respiratory drug development. We look forward to 
working with them as we continue with the focused clinical development of our 
lead pipeline asset RPL554, a PDE3/4 inhibitor, as a first-in-class orally 
inhaled drug for the treatment of a number of important unmet medical needs in 
respiratory disease." 
 
Dr Cunningham will also be appointed as Chairman of the Audit Committee and as 
a member of the Remuneration Committee and the Corporate Governance and 
Nominations Committees. Dr Ullman will be appointed as a member of the Audit 
Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Corporate Governance and 
Nominations Committee. Mr Bottomley will retire from the Audit, Remuneration 
and Corporate Governance and Nominations Committees and Ms Poll will retire 
from the Audit Committee. 
 
The following disclosures are made in accordance with AIM rule 17 and Schedule 
2 paragraph (g) of the AIM rules: 
 
Dr Sven Anders Ernst Uddo Ullman 
Current Directorships: 
Anders Ullman Consulting GmbH 
 
Previous Directorships: 
Baxter Innovations GmbH 
Expatriate Support Service 
Neurosearch AS 
Nycomed International Management GmbH 
Pharmabridge Limited 
Takeda Pharmaceuticals India Pvt Ltd 
Takeda Pharmaceuticals International GmbH 
Zydus Nycomed Healthcare Pvt Limited 
 
Dr Kenneth Thomas Cunningham 
Current Directorships: 
Abzena Plc 
Abzena Holdings Limited 
Xention Pharma Limited 
 
Previous Directorships: 
Prosonix Limited 
Skyepharma plc 
 
                                    -Ends- 
 
For further information please contact: 
 
Verona Pharma plc                      Tel: +44 (0)20 7863 3300 
 
Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO 
 
Biresh Roy, CFO 
 
N+1 Singer                             Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000 
 
Aubrey Powell / Jen Boorer 
 
FTI Consulting                         Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1000 
 
Simon Conway / Stephanie Cuthbert / 
Natalie Garland-Collins 
 
Notes to Editors 
 
About Verona Pharma plc 
 
Verona Pharma plc is a UK-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company 
focused on the development of innovative prescription medicines to treat 
respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs, such as COPD, asthma 
and cystic fibrosis.  Verona Pharma's lead drug, RPL554, is a first-in-class 
drug currently in Phase II trials as a nebulised treatment for acute 
exacerbations of COPD in the hospital setting.  The drug is a dual 
phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3/4 inhibitor and therefore has both bronchodilator and 
anti-inflammatory effects, which are essential to the improvement of patients 
with COPD and asthma.  Verona Pharma is also building a broader franchise 
around RPL554 to maximise its value, both to patients and to investors.  This 
includes the very significant markets for COPD and asthma maintenance therapy. 
 The Company is also exploring the potential of the drug in different diseases, 
such as cystic fibrosis, where it is in pre-clinical testing and has recently 
received a Venture and Innovation Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. 
 
 
 
END
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