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 |
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N+1 Singer |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000 |
Aubrey Powell / Jen Boorer |
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FTI Consulting |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1000 |
Simon Conway /
Stephanie Cuthbert /
Natalie Garland-Collins |
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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.