Verona Pharma PLC Appointment of CFO
September 26 2016 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMVRP
Verona Pharma plc
("Verona Pharma" or the "Company")
Appointment of CFO
26 September 2016, Cardiff - Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP.L), the drug
development company focused on first-in-class medicines to treat respiratory
diseases, announces the appointment of Piers John Morgan as Chief Financial
Officer with effect from 26 September 2016.
Mr Morgan (aged 50) is a Chartered Accountant with close to 25 years' financial
experience, predominantly in the life sciences sector, having held both
corporate and advisory senior positions. He has extensive financing expertise,
having led IPOs on AIM, NASDAQ and Euronext Paris as well as having completed
more than 120 transactions.
He was previously the CEO of C4X Discovery plc, a small molecule discovery and
development company, where he led the company's successful IPO on London's AIM
market in 2014. Prior to this he co-founded uniQure, a gene therapy company,
where he spent five years as CFO leading a number of equity and debt
transactions, including the company's $92 million IPO on NASDAQ in 2014. He has
also held CFO roles at London listed Phytopharm, Paris listed BioAlliance
Pharma and Arrow Therapeutics. He is currently a Non-executive Director at
Quethera Ltd, a private gene therapy company and was previously Non-Exec
Chairman of Trino Therapeutics.
Between 1997 and 2000 he was a Director in the Ernst and Young Life Sciences M&
A practice, where he founded the Life Sciences M&A team. Prior to this he spent
five years as an Assistant Director at Close Brothers Corporate Finance.
Commenting on the appointment, Verona Pharma's CEO, Jan-Anders Karlsson, said:
"We are delighted to welcome Piers to Verona Pharma. He brings a strong track
record and deep financial and public company experience. He joins at an
exciting and important stage in Verona Pharma's journey. His broad experience
and insights into international markets provide an excellent complementary
skill set to the management team. The recent fundraising was transformational
for the Company and will enable us to accelerate the clinical development of
RPL554. Preparations have started for the forthcoming Phase 2b trials, with
first clinical dosing expected in the second quarter of 2017. We continue to
believe RPL554 has the potential to be an important new treatment option for
patients with COPD and possibly cystic fibrosis."
As Mr. Morgan's role is a non-board appointment, there is no further disclosure
required under Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules.
-Ends-
For further information please contact:
Verona Pharma plc Tel: +44 (0)20 3283 4200
Jan-Anders Karlsson, Chief Executive
Officer
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 chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Verona Pharma's lead drug, RPL554, is a first-in-class drug in Phase 2 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 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 received a Venture
and Innovation Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
END
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