Silence Therapeutics PLC Acquisition of Minority Stake in Arrowhead (6001T)
January 09 2017 - 1:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSLN
RNS Number : 6001T
Silence Therapeutics PLC
09 January 2017
Acquisition of minority stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals
9(th) January 2017
London, 9(th) January 2017 - Silence Therapeutics plc, AIM:SLN
("Silence" or the "Company") a leader in the discovery, delivery
and development of novel RNA therapeutics for the treatment of
serious diseases with unmet medical need, announces that it has
acquired a stake, on-market, in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(NASDAQ: ARWR) ("Arrowhead") of 6,006,359 common shares,
representing 8.4% of the common share capital of Arrowhead, for a
total cash consideration of $9.6 million (GBP7.8 million(1)),
excluding transaction costs.
Since the capital raise of May 2015, Silence has been actively
evaluating a number of RNAi assets, including technologies within
both listed and unlisted RNAi companies. Arrowhead is a US based
NASDAQ listed company that develops medicines to treat intractable
diseases by silencing the genes that cause them by means of a broad
portfolio of RNA chemistries and efficient modes of delivery. The
Company believes that Arrowhead's IP, technology and pipeline is
among the leading platform technologies in a sector that promises
huge potential advances by generating novel medicines.
Silence has acquired the equity position in order to facilitate
future discussions regarding a possible transaction with Arrowhead,
which could include, but is not limited to, product licensing,
R&D collaboration, technology sharing or a potential corporate
transaction. Silence and Arrowhead are not currently engaged in any
discussions regarding a possible transaction. Silence will update
the market at the appropriate time should any discussions progress
to a transaction.
Silence has acquired the stake using its existing cash
resources. The stake will not be consolidated and will be held as
an investment asset on the Company's balance sheet, as such there
are no profits to attribute to the assets being held. There will be
no contribution from the investment to Silence's net loss. The
Company confirms that it reported net cash of GBP47.6 million as at
30 June in its interim results.
1 Exchange rate used 1.234
Ali Mortazavi, Chief Executive Officer of Silence Therapeutics,
commented:
"We believe that the recent technological advancements in RNA
therapeutics have been underestimated and undervalued. We are
confident that the recent market approval of medicines in our field
are the beginning of the emergence of an important new class of
therapeutics. We look forward to opening a constructive dialogue
with Arrowhead."
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED
UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU No. 596/2014). UPON THE
PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE
THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN.
Enquiries:
Silence Therapeutics plc Tel: +44 (0)
Ali Mortazavi, Chief Executive Officer 20 3457 6900
David Ellam, Chief Financial Officer
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Tel: +44 (0)
Adviser and Joint Broker) 20 7523 8350
Rupert Winckler/Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor/Emma
Gabriel
Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0)
James Steel/Oliver Jackson 20 7418 8900
Media Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0)
FTI Consulting 20 3727 1000
Simon Conway/Brett Pollard/Stephanie
Cuthbert
Notes to Editors
About Silence Therapeutics plc
Our technology harnesses the body's natural mechanisms to create
therapeutic effects within its cells. This technology can
selectively silence or replace any gene in the genome, modulating
gene expression up as well as down in a variety of organs and cell
types, in vivo. We have developed proprietary modifications to
improve the robustness of RNA sequences, as well as advanced
chemistries to enhance the effective delivery of therapeutic RNA
molecules to target cells.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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January 09, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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