Tosedostat data to be presented at ASCO

13 May 2011

LSE: VER

Tosedostat data to be presented at

2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Interim results from a study of tosedostat will be presented at the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which is being held in Chicago on 3-7 June 2011. The study in elderly patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) has also been selected for oral poster discussion.

The data will be presented on 3 June 2011 by Jorge Cortes, M.D., of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, an investigator on the tosedostat study, during the Leukaemia, Myelodysplasia, and Transplantation session between 2.00 and 6.00 pm. The poster will also be included in a discussion session from 5.00 till 6.00 pm. The presentation, abstract #6517, titled "Interim results of OPAL, a study of tosedostat in elderly relapsed/refractory AML" will be available at www.asco.org on 18 May 2011.

Vernalis licensed tosedostat to Chroma Therapeutics Limited in 2003 and is entitled to royalties on commercial sales. Chroma Therapeutics Limited licensed the rights to tosedostat in North, Central and South America to Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI), in March this year. CTI is responsible for further development of tosedostat and intends to progress it into Phase III studies of AML in Q4 2011. Tosedostat has been granted orphan drug status for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) by both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). 

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About Vernalis

Vernalis is a development stage pharmaceutical company with significant expertise in taking promising product candidates along a commercially-focused path to market. The Group has one marketed product, frovatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine, and eight candidates in development, seven of which are designated priority programmes. Four of these priority development programmes are currently unpartnered and three are partnered. Pipeline programmes are derived from both our own research activities where we have significant expertise in fragment and structure based drug discovery, as well as from collaborations. Our technologies, capabilities and products are endorsed by collaborations with Endo, GSK, Lundbeck, Menarini, Novartis and Servier.

About AML

AML is a hematologic cancer that is an aggressive, fast -growing cancer that starts inside the bone marrow with the production of abnormal blood cells. The American Cancer Society estimates that 12,330 new cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will be diagnosed and approximately 8,950 deaths from AML will occur in the U.S. in 2010. AML is generally a disease of older people, with the average age of onset for AML of approximately 67 years. There remain a substantial proportion of elderly patients who do not receive intensive chemotherapy due to their inability to tolerate such regimens, and other risk factors. Therefore, there is a significant unmet medical need in developing a well-tolerated and effective treatment for these patients.

For further information about Vernalis, please visit www.vernalis.com

Vernalis Forward-Looking Statement

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events including the clinical development and regulatory clearance of the Company's products, the Company's ability to find partners for the development and commercialisation of its products, as well as the Company's future capital raising activities. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Company's research strategies, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the ability of the Company to identify and agree beneficial terms with suitable partners for the commercialisation and/or development of its products, as well as the achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, the acceptance of frovatriptan and other products by consumers and medical professionals, the successful integration of completed mergers and acquisitions and achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, and the ability of the Company to identify and consummate suitable strategic and business combination transactions.