Vernalis and Servier Extend Oncology Collaboration

6 March 2013

LSE: VER

Vernalis and Servier Extend Oncology Collaboration

Vernalis plc and Servier, France's largest privately-owned pharmaceutical company, today announce the further extension of their ongoing oncology collaboration initiated in May 2007.

This is the first of three collaborations between Vernalis and Servier and focuses on multiple undisclosed oncology targets. It was initially extended in October 2011 and is now extended for a further two years.

Ian Garland, CEO of Vernalis, commented "We are delighted by this news which reflects Servier's continued endorsement of our joint achievements over the past few years."

Servier's head of research, Bernard Marchand, said: "this 2-year extension highlights our commitment to cancer research through innovative drug discovery platforms."

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About Servier

Servier is the leading independent French pharmaceutical company, established in 1954 by its founder, Jacques Servier, M.D., Pharm.D. The group is established in 140 countries and 90% of Servier products are prescribed out of France. Sales turnover in 2012 rose to 3.9 billion euros. Almost 25% of Servier's turnover is invested in Research and Development. The Servier Group counts 19 International Centers of Therapeutic Research, and its principal therapeutic research orientations are cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neuropsychiatric disorders, cancer, and osteoarticular diseases.

More information is available at: www.servier.com.

About Vernalis

Vernalis is a revenue generating development stage pharmaceutical company with significant expertise in drug development. The Group has one marketed product, frovatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine, an exclusive licensing agreement to develop and commercialise multiple novel products focussed on the US prescription cough/cold market as well as seven programmes in its NCE development pipeline. Vernalis has significant expertise in fragment and structure based drug discovery which it leverages to enter into collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. The Company's technologies, capabilities and products are endorsed by collaborations with Endo, Genentech, Lundbeck, Menarini, Novartis, Servier and Tris.

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.