Mereo selected for oral presentation at ATS 2018

Mereo BioPharma Group plc

("Mereo" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Mereo selected for oral presentation at late breaker session at American Thoracic Society 2018 International Congress

Positive data from AETHER Phase 2 clinical trial, examining acumapimod (BCT-197) as a potential treatment for acute severe exacerbations of COPD, to be presented

London, 20 March 2018 - Mereo BioPharma Group plc (AIM: MPH), a multi-asset biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics that aim to improve outcomes for patients with rare and specialty diseases, today announced that the Company has been selected to make an oral presentation during the late-breaking session at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2018 International Conference in San Diego, USA to be held from 18 to 23 May.

The title of the abstract of the talk is "Effectiveness of Acumapimod Oral P38 Inhibitor in the Treatment of Acute Severe Exacerbations of COPD: Results of the AETHER Phase II Trial." The abstract and details on timing can be accessed through the ATS website: http://conference.thoracic.org/

On 11 December 2017, Mereo announced positive top-line results from the AETHER trial. In this Phase 2 clinical trial, acumapimod met the primary endpoint of comparison of change in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) from baseline to day 7 within treatment groups and produced a statistically significant reduction in the number of COPD exacerbations that required rehospitalisation in AECOPD patients.

Alastair MacKinnon, Mereo's Chief Medical Officer commented: "We are delighted that data from our AETHER trial will be presented during the late-breaking session at the American Thoracic Society meeting in San Diego. This follows the acceptance of three of our abstracts at the meeting in Washington last year. We believe the presentation shows the recognition of the data from this trial, which met its primary endpoint and reduced the number of COPD exacerbations that required rehospitalisation in AECOPD patients. AECOPD is an area of great unmet medical need and we hope that the data from this trial will move acumapimod closer to the market and patients. We look forward to attending the ATS meeting in May."

The title, timing and location of the abstract presentations are as follows:

About Mereo

Mereo is a multi-asset biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics that aim to improve outcomes for patients with rare and specialty diseases. The portfolio consists of four clinical-stage product candidates, each of which were acquired from large pharmaceutical companies: BPS-804 for the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta; AZD-9668 for the treatment of severe alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; BCT-197 for the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or AECOPD; and BGS-649 for the treatment of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in obese men. Each of the Company's product candidates has generated positive clinical data for Mereo's target indication or in a related indication. The Company's strategy is to selectively acquire product candidates that have already received significant investment from pharmaceutical companies and that have substantial preclinical, clinical and manufacturing data packages. Since inception the Company has commenced large, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trials for three of the product candidates and announced positive top-line results from its Phase 2 clinical trial of BCT-197 as an acute therapy for patients with AECOPD in December 2017. The Company intends to commence additional late-stage clinical trials in 2018.

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