25th Oct 2006 07:01
Evolutec Group PLC25 October 2006 For immediate release25 October 2006 Evolutec Group plc ("Evolutec" or the "Company") Institutional Placing Raises £2.8 million Evolutec Group plc (AIM: EVC), the biopharmaceutical company developing novelproducts for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases,announces that it has raised approximately £2.8 million before expenses througha placing of 2,359,090 new ordinary shares of 10 pence each (the "Placing Shares") (the "Placing"). The Placing Shares, which represent approximately 10% of theCompany's issued share capital prior to the Placing, have been placed with arange of existing investors at a placing price of 118 pence per share (the "Placing Price"). The Placing Price represents a discount of approximately 8 percent to the closing middle market price on AIM, a market operated by the LondonStock Exchange plc market, on 24 October 2006. It is intended that the majority of the proceeds will be used to maintain thepace of development of the Company's lead product development candidate, rEV131,a novel histamine binding molecule, by scaling up the manufacturing capabilityto meet new expectations and to fund studies to validate and automate filling ofthe nasal spray device. The remainder will be used to conduct the necessarysafety studies and develop a clinical grade manufacturing process for Evolutec'ssecond product development candidate, rEV576, a novel inhibitor of complementactivation, to enable it to commence clinical trials in the second half of 2007. Evolutec expects to deliver four clinical results in the next nine months.rEV131, is currently in a Phase IIb trial for allergic rhinitis (hayfever) andin a proof of concept Phase II trial for inflammation of the eye followingcataract surgery. The allergic rhinitis trial is due to deliver results by theyear-end and the post-cataract trial during the first half of 2007. Two furtherclinical trials for rEV131 in asthma and dry eye are scheduled to begin in early2007. Both of these trials are expected to deliver results around the middle ofthat year. rEV576 has shown encouraging preclinical results in the autoimmune diseasesmyasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, It has also demonstratedpromising preclinical results in asthma. Clinical trials for rEV576 are expectedto commence in the second half of 2007, following safety studies and theproduction of clinical grade material. Evolutec's third product developmentcandidate, rEV598, has shown limited efficacy in a preclinical model ofchemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting ("CINV"). The Company is not expectingto commit further funds to rEV598 in the immediate future. The Placing was undertaken pursuant to a resolution of the shareholders at theCompany's Annual General Meeting on 26 April 2006 which approved thedisapplication of shareholders' pre-emption rights in relation to issues for anaggregate nominal amount of £235,909 (being equivalent to approximately 10 percent. of the then issued share capital of the Company). Application will be made today for the Placing Shares to be admitted and totrade on AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange plc. The Placing isconditional on admission, which is expected to become effective on 27 October2006. When issued, the Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects withthe Company's existing ordinary shares. Following the placing, Evolutec willhave a total of 25,949,996 Ordinary Shares of 10 pence each in issue. Mark Carnegie Brown, Evolutec's Chief Executive, said: "Evolutec expects to deliver four clinical trial results in the next nine monthsand have two clinical development candidates in 2007. These funds will ensure that momentum is maintained and key enabling actionsimplemented in rhinitis, Evolutec's lead development programme. They will alsoenable the acceleration of rEV576." Enquiries: Evolutec Group plc 0118 922 4480Mark Carnegie Brown, Chief Executive OfficerNicholas Badman, Chief Financial Officerwww.evolutec.co.uk Bridgewell Limited 020 7003 3000Shaun DobsonXavier de Mol Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113David YatesBen Brewerton Notes for Editors: About Evolutec Evolutec, which is based in Reading, UK, is a clinical stage biopharmaceuticalcompany with a focus on allergy, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The Company has completed a positive 112 patient proof of concept Phase IIaclinical trial with rEV131, its lead product development candidate, in allergicrhinitis. rEV131 met the primary endpoint of reducing the sum of symptom scoresat statistically significant levels within 45 minutes of administration. Inaddition to the Phase IIb trial in rhinitis and the proof of concept Phase IItrial in post-cataract, Evolutec also intends to complete a proof of conceptPhase II trial in dry eye in 2007. Following positive preclinical data, Evolutecintends to undertake a Phase I trial with rEV131 in asthma in 2007. The Company's second preclinical development candidate, rEV576, is a complementinhibitor. rEV576 has demonstrated preclinical activity against the autoimmunediseases myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, asthma and acutemyocardial infarction ("AMI") (heart attack). Evolutec has established aresearch collaboration with Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, toundertake further preclinical work with rEV576 in myasthenia gravis. The rights to Evolutec's vaccine technology for animals are partnered withMerial. Merial is currently undertaking work in tick-borne diseases. Evolutec is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and developstherapeutics originally isolated from the saliva of ticks. The tick remainsundetected by its hosts, including humans, by injecting an array of moleculesinto the skin that suppresses host immunity. These stealth molecules haveundergone millions of years of natural evolution to select a promising efficacy,potency and safety profile. Evolutec employs the tick's evolutionary stealthtechnology to offer the potential of treating human diseases. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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