Verona Pharma makes progress on new respiratory drug

The company’s lead drug, RPL554, is a first-in-class drug currently in Phase 2 trials as a nebulized maintenance treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.

Dr. Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO of Verona Pharma said: “We have continued to make excellent progress with the clinical development of RPL554. The headline data reported from the two clinical trials during the period continues to support our belief that this first-in-class drug could be a meaningful new treatment for COPD patients.”

The company announced the results together with its half-year figures, which revealed after tax losses for the six-month stretch to 30 June of £1.6m, which was an improvement on the £3.69m loss incurred in 2015, reflecting a tight control over costs.

Net cash outflows from operating activities during the six month period fell to £2.23m compared to £3.92m in 2015.

However, cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 2016 were £1.21m compared to £6.09m one year back, with spending was focused on RPL554 clinical trials and related activities.

According to analyst Jaime Constable at N+1 Singer predicts RPL554 could be in a position to commence Phase III trials by the end of 2018 if development goes according to plan. “We remain upbeat and look forward to the commencement of Phase IIb trials in H2 2016” said constable.

After period-end the outfit raised £41.9m in net cash proceeds through a placing for approximately 1.56m new shares among ten investors, including seven new ones.

"[...] The fundraising has also brought a number of specialist healthcare investors as new shareholders. Several of them have now joined our Board and we look forward to benefiting from their multi-faceted experience in the sector,” Karlsson added.

The share price fell 4.76% to 3p at 1425 BST on Tuesday.