Board changes

SILENCE THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES BOARD CHANGES TO FOCUS BUSINESS STRATEGY ON US

17 December, 2019

LONDON, Silence Therapeutics plc (LON: SLN) ("Silence" or "the Company"), a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel RNA therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases, announces today a strengthening of the Board & Management team as it looks to secure further business development deals and increase its focus on the US.

Iain Ross will be appointed Executive Chairman as from 1 January 2020 to work alongside CEO, David Horn Solomon, who will increasingly focus on implementing the Company's strategy in the US.

Iain re-joined the Silence Board as Non- Executive Chairman in April 2019 and since that time he has been working closely with David who has strengthened the management team with several high-profile appointments including Rob Quinn, CFO, Dr. Giles Campion, Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer, Barbara Ruskin, General Counsel, John Strafford, Head of Business Development and Jurgen Wittendorff, Head of Manufacturing. During this period the Company has also announced a transformational development and licensing deal with Mallinckrodt and has discussions with other potential partners ongoing.

In addition, the Company also announces that in anticipation of an increased focus on the US, Dave Lemus, Non-Executive Director will take over the chairmanship of the Audit & Risk Committee from Alistair Gray who, in view of Iain's appointment, will become Senior Independent Director. The Company intends to further strengthen the Board & Management team in due course with the recruitment of two further non-executive directors and key senior managers with US experience.

Iain Ross, Chairman, commented: "I am extremely excited to take on the role of Executive Chairman at a very exciting stage of the Company's development. Our lead development assets are progressing well, we are in multiple business discussions and, as David will be spending a greater amount of time focused on our US initiatives, I look forward to providing further support in London and Berlin."

David Horn Solomon, Chief Executive Officer, added: "Iain and I have been working together since he was appointed as Chairman and I welcome his support and commitment and look forward to working with him in this coming important year."

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About Silence Therapeutics plc

Silence Therapeutics is developing a new generation of medicines by harnessing the body's natural mechanism of RNA interference, or RNAi, within its cells. Its proprietary technology can selectively inhibit any gene in the genome, specifically silencing the production of disease-causing proteins. Using its enabling delivery systems, it has achieved an additional level of specificity by delivering its therapeutic RNA molecules exclusively to target cells. Silence's proprietary RNA chemistries and delivery systems are designed to improve the stability of our molecules and enhance effective delivery to target cells, providing a powerful modular technology well suited to tackle life-threatening diseases. For more information, please visit: https://www.silence-therapeutics.com/