Verona Pharma Enters Global Strategic Clinical Development Services Agreement with QuintilesIMS for RPL554

Establishes research and operational platform for clinical trials covering COPD and Cystic Fibrosis

22 March 2017, London - Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP.L) (Verona Pharma), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising innovative therapeutics for the treatment of respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs, today announced it has entered into a global strategic services agreement with QuintilesIMS, a leading provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services.

The services agreement establishes an operational platform to facilitate Verona Pharma's global clinical trial-related activities for the development of its product candidate RPL554 for the treatment of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and cystic fibrosis and for future commercialisation initiatives.

Pursuant to the agreement, Quintiles will serve as sole provider of core clinical trial services for Verona Pharma's RPL554 clinical development programs. Verona Pharma will have full access to Quintiles' therapeutic and operational experts throughout the duration of each trial, from the planning and design through to execution. Joint governance and quality oversight has been established to ensure strategic and operational goals are met and compliance with regulatory and quality requirements. Verona Pharma will also have access to QuintilesIMS' global commercial insights when developing its market access strategy in the United States for RPL554.

Verona Pharma's product candidate, RPL554, is an inhaled, dual PDE3/PDE4 inhibitor that acts as both a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound. Verona Pharma is currently developing RPL554 for the maintenance treatment of COPD patients and as an add-on therapy to commonly used therapies for the treatment of hospitalized patients with acute exacerbations of COPD. It is also developing RPL554 for the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Dr Jan-Anders Karlsson, Verona Pharma's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Verona Pharma is focused on advancing the clinical development of RPL554 for the treatment of COPD and cystic fibrosis. The Company has already completed eight Phase 1 and 2a clinical trials for RPL554, and we believe that our strategic services agreement with QuintilesIMS will enhance the agility, productivity and commercial viability of our development activities as we progress multiple larger and later stage clinical trials."

About Verona Pharma plc

Verona Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising innovative therapeutics for the treatment of respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs. 

Verona Pharma's product candidate, RPL554, is a first-in-class, inhaled, dual inhibitor of the enzymes phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 that acts as both a bronchodilator and an anti‑inflammatory agent in a single compound. In clinical trials, treatment with RPL554 has been observed to result in statistically significant improvements in lung function as compared to placebo and has shown clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in lung function when added to two commonly used bronchodilators as compared to either bronchodilator administered as a single agent. Verona Pharma is developing RPL554 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and potentially asthma.

Forward Looking Statements 

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements. 

These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from our expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the provision of clinical trial and other services by QuintilesIMS and the potential value of such services to our development activities.

These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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