Silence Therapeutics PLC Post year end business update (1629B)
08 January 2018 - 6:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSLN
RNS Number : 1629B
Silence Therapeutics PLC
08 January 2018
Post year end business update
8 January 2018
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 a post year end update.
Arrowhead disposal and net cash position
In December 2016, given the dramatic decline in the valuation of
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals post clinical halts after discussion with
the FDA, the Board decided to deploy our balance sheet to take a
c10% stake in Arrowhead with a view to and desire for a strategic
transaction. Despite multiple attempts at direct dialogue with
Arrowhead, and in particular due to the poison pill which Arrowhead
implemented in March 2017, it became increasingly clear that a
transaction would not be possible. As a result, and given the
significant rise in the share price of Arrowhead, the Board
subsequently treated the near 10% stake as an investment to be
liquidated in an orderly manner in order to deploy the capital for
our core drug development activities.
Silence is subsequently pleased to state that it has completed
the sale of its entire stake in Arrowhead. The common shares
originally cost $11.3 million, and net sale proceeds were $24.7
million. The common shares were sold at an average price of
$3.64.
After completing the sale of all Arrowhead shares, the Company's
unaudited net cash balance at January 2nd, 2018 was GBP43 million
($58 million) compared to GBP29.8 million at 30 June 2017.
Litigation update
As in any novel therapeutic area, Intellectual Property (IP) and
Freedom to Operate (FTO) is the foundation of any biotechnology
company. In 2017, Silence continued to strengthen its IP estate.
The US Patent and Trade Mark Office granted a number of additional
US patent applications, providing Silence with further protection
for its innovative chemical modification technology in the US.
Silence now has ten granted US patents, one US patent application,
three granted European patents and four European patent
applications encompassing its chemical modification technology.
Silence believes that these newly granted claims are relevant to
third-party RNAi medicines and that its foundational IP is
essential for the clinical and commercial viability of the RNAi
field. The UK litigation with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is
progressing, and it seems likely that all issues between the
parties will be heard at a trial beginning on, or around, December
3rd, 2018. Silence intends to vigorously defend its position after
many years of invested capital in IP.
Quark
In July 2017, licensee Quark Pharmaceuticals ("Quark") announced
positive results of a Phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy and
safety of an siRNA treatment (QPI-1002) for the prevention of Acute
Kidney Injury (AKI) in subjects at high risk following cardiac
surgery, utilising Silence's patented chemical modification
technology. Primary and secondary endpoints of the trial were met
and supported continued clinical development of the product which
is exclusively licensed to Novartis for worldwide development and
commercialization in AKI. Novartis also has an option on QPI-1002
in delayed graft function for which a phase 3 study is ongoing. We
await news from Quark as to the next steps in the development of
QPI-1002 in AKI.
Board and senior management
Since 2016, Silence has been optimising and improving its
GalNAC-siRNA based technology as its primary therapeutic toolkit.
During this time, there has been a significant drive to recruit key
personnel to transition this technology to therapeutic candidates.
Silence now has an International, sector-experienced Board and
executive team with a strong track record of proven execution and
expertise in the RNAi and oligonucleotide fields as well as more
general expertise within the pharma and biotech industry. The
Company continues to strengthen internal capabilities in clinical
development and regulatory affairs as it transitions to a clinical
phase Company.
Pipeline update and target selection strategy
The Company had a successful 2017, making important steps in its
ambition to transition into a drug development Company. It has
continued to see progress in its drug pipeline with plans to file
its first GalNAc-siRNA Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for
treatment of iron overload disorder by end 2018.
In addition, significant focus is being given to new target
selection to enable the company to have a deep pre-clinical
pipeline which can undergo clear go/no go gates to potential CTA
filings. We have made material investment in this area in terms of
highly qualified personnel as we consider it to be key to
maximising our platform capability.
Ali Mortazavi, Chief Executive Officer of Silence Therapeutics,
commented:
"At our recent Capital Markets Day, Silence demonstrated that it
is now has a powerful, reproducible and modular GalNAc-siRNA
platform that can rapidly and safely be used to specifically and
effectively silence any disease-associated target gene in
hepatocytes. With GBP43 million of cash at the start of 2018,
Silence is well positioned to further develop its existing
pipeline, as well as adding significant new targets, some
incorporating next generation technology. At the same time, we are
actively looking to partner our platform and programs, and to enter
into both commercial and academic collaborations, strengthening our
balance sheet and widening our portfolio. We are highly committed
and motivated by the potential of RNAi based therapies using our
GalNAc-siRNA technology. We look forward to further progress in
2018 and the future development of a robust pipeline."
The company will provide further details on 2017 performance at
its Preliminary Results in March 2018.
Enquiries:
Silence Therapeutics plc Tel: +44 (0)20
Ali Mortazavi, Chief Executive 3457 6900
Officer
David Ellam, Chief Financial Officer
Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser Tel: +44 (0)20
and Broker) 7418 8900
James Steel/Oliver Jackson
Media Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0)
Optimum Strategic Communications 20 3714 1789
Mary Clark/ Eva Haas/Hollie Vile
Notes to Editors
About Silence Therapeutics plc
Silence Therapeutics develops a new generation of medicines by
harnessing the body's natural mechanism of RNA interference, or
RNAi, within its cells. Our proprietary technology can selectively
inhibit any gene in the genome, specifically silencing the
production of disease-causing proteins. Using our enabling delivery
systems, we have achieved an additional level of specificity by
delivering our therapeutic RNA molecules exclusively to target
cells. Silence's proprietary RNA chemistries and delivery systems
are designed to improve the stability of our molecules and enhance
effective delivery to target cells, providing a powerful modular
technology well suited to tackle life-threatening diseases.
http://www.silence-therapeutics.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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