VRP Verona Pharma Plc

Verona Pharma plc

("Verona Pharma" or the "Company")

Appointment of Vikas Sinha as Non-Executive Director

12 September 2016, Cardiff – Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP), a drug development company focused on first-in-class medicines to treat respiratory diseases, today announces the appointment of Vikas Sinha to the Board of Verona Pharma as a Non-Executive Director, with immediate effect.

Vikas (aged 53) has over 20 years of experience working in senior finance roles in the life sciences industry. He is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN), one of the world's leading rare disease companies with a market cap of approximately USD30 billion. Vikas joined Alexion in 2005 and is responsible for global financial management, information technology, corporate and strategic development, treasury, internal audit and investor relations.

Prior to Alexion, Vikas spent 11 years at Bayer AG where he held various positions within the company in the United States, Canada, Japan and Germany. His last role was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation, USA, where he was responsible for financial management and strategic planning in North America.

Prior to his time at Bayer AG, Vikas worked at ANZ Bank as a Senior Manager in Corporate Banking and at Citibank as an analyst.

Vikas is a chartered accountant by training. He is a certified public accountant in the USA, and an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Vikas also has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines.   

Dr. David Ebsworth, Chairman of Verona Pharma, said: “Vikas’ impressive financial background, including his US expertise, makes him a very welcome addition to our Board of Directors. I have known Vikas for many years having worked together at Bayer and hold his impressive track record in high regard. We are pleased that Vikas will be joining our Board at such a pivotal time, as we progress our lead asset, RPL554, into a Phase 2b clinical trial programme.”

Schedule Two information regarding Vikas Sinha

Vikas Sinha holds or has held the following directorships and partnerships in the last five years:

Save for the information disclosed above, there is no other information in relation to Vikas required to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

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Notes to Editors

About Verona Pharma plc

Verona Pharma plc is a UK-based clinical stage biotech company focused on the development of innovative prescription medicines to treat respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and cystic fibrosis.

Verona Pharma's lead drug, RPL554, is a first-in-class drug currently in Phase 2 trials as a nebulised maintenance treatment for COPD patients with moderate to severe disease and possibly as a treatment of 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 portfolio of RPL554-containing products to maximise its benefit to patients and its value. 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.