Presentation at Therapeutic Area Partnerships Meeting

Verona Pharma plc ("Verona Pharma" or the "Company") Verona Pharma to present at Therapeutic Area Partnerships (TAP), Boston, 18-20 November 2013 RPL554 selected as a `Top Project to Watch' 13 November 2013, London - Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP), the drug developmentcompany focused on "first-in-class" medicines to treat respiratory diseases,announces that it will present at the Therapeutic Area Partnerships (TAP)Meeting, 18-20 November 2013, Boston, Massachusetts. The presentation willcentre on Verona Pharma's lead development programme, RPL554, which has beenselected as one of ten `Top Projects to Watch' in the anti-inflammatory/autoimmune therapeutic area. The projects are selected by a panel of independent experts who screen hundredsof compounds and weigh their potential as future products. Verona Pharma willpresent on 19 November and will be available for 1:1 partnering meetings during19-20 November. -Ends- For further information please contact: Verona Pharma plc Tel: 020 7863 3300Clive Page, ChairmanJan-Anders Karlsson, CEORichard Bungay, CFO WH Ireland Limited Tel: 020 7220 1666Chris FieldingNick Field FTI Consulting Tel: 020 7831 3113Julia PhillipsSimon Conway Notes to Editors About Therapeutic Area Partnerships (TAP) Since its launch eight years ago, Therapeutic Area Partnerships (TAP) has cometo be regarded as the industry's premier biopharmaceutical partnering event. Auniquely efficient gathering, TAP brings together decision-makers to assess themost promising drug programmes available for partnering in: oncology,cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, neuroscience, infectious diseases,anti-inflammatory/autoimmune diseases and advanced therapies (cellular and genetherapies, rare diseases and other high value and niche areas). About Verona Pharma plc Verona Pharma is developing "first-in-class" drugs to treat respiratorydisease, such as COPD, asthma and chronic, severe cough. The Company has threedrug programmes, two of which are in Phase II. The lead programme, RPL554, isan innovative dual phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibitor with bothbronchodilator and anti-inflammatory properties. VRP700 is an innovativeproduct for suppressing chronic, severe cough in patients with underlying lungdisease. In its third programme, Verona Pharma is investigating novelanti-inflammatory molecules, called NAIPs, for a wide range of respiratory andinflammatory diseases. About RPL554 for the treatment of COPD and Asthma Verona's lead drug, RPL554, is a dual phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibitorbeing developed as a novel treatment for chronic obstructive airways diseasesuch as COPD and asthma with bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory effects. Botheffects are essential to improve symptoms in patients with COPD or asthma.RPL554 is currently in phase II for both diseases. COPD is a chronic lung disease with significant unmet need for which currenttreatment is far from optimal, as it often has unwanted side-effects and/orlimited effectiveness. COPD is most commonly characterised by fixed airflowobstruction and chronic airways inflammation resulting from exposure toirritants like tobacco smoke. Asthma, which remains one of the most commonchronic diseases in the world, is characterised by recurrent breathing problemsand symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing.The market for COPD and asthma drugs is currently estimated to be GBP20 billion[source: visiongain]. About VRP700 for the treatment of Cough VRP700 is Verona Pharma's lead drug compound for the treatment of cough, havinga novel mechanism of action involving the suppression of cough initiatingsignals originating from cough sensory nerve endings located in the lungs. Aclinical trial completed at the University of Florence, Italy in September 2011clearly demonstrated significant anti-tussive effects with nebulised VRP700 inhospitalized patients with chronic severe cough. Cough can be a very debilitating comorbidity reported by patients, especiallythose with respiratory conditions such as asthma, COPD, lung cancer,interstitial lung disease, fibrosis or lung infections. It is a neglectedsymptom which is often self-medicated. Consumer spending on OTC medications,including those for cough, grew by 10% over 2005-10, to reach GBP532 million inUK [source: Mintel]. However, there is very little clinical evidence for suchOTC cough medications being really effective and it is widely recognised by themedical community that there is a large need for more effective drugs tocontrol and prevent pathologically induced coughing.