Vernalis and Asahi Kasei Pharma Achieve Research Milestone

WINNERSH, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Mar 6, 2015) - Vernalis (LSE: VER) is pleased to announce the achievement of the second milestone in its drug discovery collaboration with Asahi Kasei Pharma (AKP). Vernalis will receive a payment of £0.5m in recognition of this achievement.

This collaboration with AKP was initiated in October 2013 and utilises Vernalis' fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform against an undisclosed target for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Overall financial terms of this collaboration have not been disclosed.

Notes to Editors

About Vernalis
Vernalis is a revenue generating development stage pharmaceutical company with significant expertise in drug development. The Group has one marketed product, frovatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine, an exclusive licensing agreement to develop and commercialise multiple novel products focussed on the US prescription cough cold market as well as seven programmes in its NCE development pipeline. Vernalis has also significant expertise in fragment and structure based drug discovery which it leverages to enter into collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. The Company's technologies, capabilities and products have been endorsed over the last five years by collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies, including AKP, Biogen Idec, Endo, GSK, Genentech, Lundbeck, Menarini, Novartis, Servier and Tris.

For further information about Vernalis, please visit www.vernalis.com

Vernalis Forward-Looking Statement
This news release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events including the clinical development and regulatory clearance of the Company's products, the Company's ability to find partners for the development and commercialisation of its products, as well as the Company's future capital raising activities. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Company's research strategies, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the ability of the Company to identify and agree beneficial terms with suitable partners for the commercialisation and/or development of its products, as well as the achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, the acceptance of frovatriptan and other products by consumers and medical professionals, the successful integration of completed mergers and acquisitions and achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, and the ability of the Company to identify and consummate suitable strategic and business combination transactions.

Enquiries:

Vernalis plc:
[phone]
Ian Garland
Chief Executive Officer
David Mackney
Chief Financial Officer

Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Adviser):
[phone]
Dr Julian Feneley
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor
Pippa Underwood

Shore Capital (Joint Broker):
[phone]
Bidhi Bhoma
Toby Gibbs

Brunswick Group:
[phone]
Jon Coles