Verona Pharma Raises $200 Million in Oversubscribed Private Placement and Subscription

Funding to support Phase 3 ENHANCE clinical program in COPD

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 (“MAR”). UPON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THIS INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

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LONDON and RALEIGH, N.C., July 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP) (Nasdaq: VRNA) (“Verona Pharma” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory diseases, announces it has raised approximately $200 million (£159 million*) in an oversubscribed private placement and subscription with new and existing institutional and accredited investors (the “Financing”). The Financing comprises a private placement of 39,090,009 of the Company’s American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), each representing eight ordinary shares of the Company (“Ordinary Shares”), at a price of $4.50 per ADS, and 43,111,112 of the Company’s Ordinary Shares at the equivalent price per Ordinary Share, being £0.45 or $0.5625 (together the “Securities”).

Verona Pharma anticipates net proceeds of the Financing will be approximately $183 million after deducting placement agent fees and estimated expenses.

The Financing was led by new investors RA Capital Management, Access Biotechnology, Perceptive Advisors, Acorn Bioventures, PBM Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Foresite Capital, Sphera, Fairmount and Soleus Capital, as well as additional investors. Existing investors, OrbiMed, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Vivo Capital, Abingworth, Novo Holdings A/S, Polar Capital and Aisling Capital also participated.

Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”) is acting as the lead placement agent to the Company in connection with the Financing.

Verona Pharma intends to use the net proceeds from the Financing primarily to fund its Phase 3 clinical program ENHANCE (Ensifentrine as a Novel inHAled Nebulized COPD thErapy) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for general corporate purposes. The Phase 3 clinical trials are planned to start later in 2020.