STAINES-UPON-THAMES, United
Kingdom and LONDON,
July 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
Mallinckrodt plc (NYSE: MNK), a global
biopharmaceutical company, and Silence Therapeutics plc (LON: SLN),
a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel
RNA1 interference (RNAi) therapeutics for the treatment
of serious diseases, announce that, further to the collaboration
announced earlier today, Mallinckrodt,
acting through a subsidiary company, has agreed to make an equity
investment of $5 million in Silence
Therapeutics.
Mallinckrodt is subscribing for a
total of 5,062,167 new ordinary shares at an issue price of 79p per
share, representing a 10 percent premium to Silence's 20-day,
volume-weighted average price. Application will be made to
the London Stock Exchange for the admission of the 5,062,167 new
ordinary shares to be subscribed for trading on
AIM2. It is expected that dealings will commence
at 8:00 a.m. BST3 on 24
July 2019. Immediately following admission, Mallinckrodt's shareholding will represent 6.5
percent of Silence Therapeutics' enlarged, issued share capital
which will be 77,285,652 ordinary shares.
As part of this equity investment Mallinckrodt will take a non-executive Director
seat on the Silence Board of Directors, and it has been proposed
that Steven Romano, M.D., Executive
Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Mallinckrodt fulfill this position. A further
announcement, including the disclosures required under Rule 17 and
Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies, will be
made at the time of Dr. Romano's appointment to the
Board.
The separate collaboration between Mallinckrodt and Silence
Therapeutics announced earlier today will allow the companies
to develop and commercialize RNAi drug targets designed to inhibit
or silence the complement cascade, a group of proteins that are
involved in the immune system and that play a role in the
development of inflammation. These proteins are known to contribute
to the pathogenesis of many diseases, including autoimmune
diseases.
ABOUT SILENCE
Silence Therapeutics is developing a
new generation of medicines by harnessing the body's natural
mechanism of RNA interference, or RNAi, within its cells. Its
proprietary technology can selectively inhibit any gene in the
genome, specifically silencing the production of disease-causing
proteins. Using its enabling delivery systems, it has achieved an
additional level of specificity by delivering its 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. Silence Therapeutics remains
focused and is determined to be responsive to creating shareholder
value as well as the appropriate growth and development of its
business. Silence Therapeutics continues to assess a number of
options in addition to its organic plan which it believes would be
additive to the Company's future growth prospects and shareholder
value, which may include equity fundraisings as well as other
strategic licensing and collaboration opportunities. For more
information, please visit
https://www.silence-therapeutics.com/.
ABOUT MALLINCKRODT
Mallinckrodt is a global business
consisting of multiple wholly owned subsidiaries that develop,
manufacture, market and distribute specialty pharmaceutical
products and therapies. The company's Specialty Brands reportable
segment's areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in
specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology,
pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal
respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics and
gastrointestinal products. Its Specialty Generics reportable
segment includes specialty generic drugs and active pharmaceutical
ingredients. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com.
Mallinckrodt uses its website as a
channel of distribution of important company information, such as
press releases, investor presentations and other financial
information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to
time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in
lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing the same
information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor
Relations page of the website for important and time-critical
information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive
automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new
information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the
website.
Cautionary Statements Related to Forward-Looking
Statements
Mallinckrodt
This release includes
forward-looking statements concerning Mallinckrodt's collaboration with Silence,
including expectations regarding future research and development
plans, potential milestone payments and commercial arrangements and
the potential impact on patients. The statements are based on
assumptions about many important factors, including the following,
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements: uncertainties inherent in research
and development, including clinical trial results; satisfaction of
regulatory and other requirements; actions of regulatory bodies and
other governmental authorities; changes in laws and regulations;
issues with product quality, manufacturing or supply, or patient
safety issues; and other risks identified and described in more
detail in the "Risk Factors" section of Mallinckrodt's most recent Annual Report on Form
10-K and other filings with the SEC, all of which are available on
its website. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only
as of the date hereof and Mallinckrodt
does not assume any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events and developments or otherwise, except as required by
law.
Silence
The information contained within this
announcement is deemed by the Silence Therapeutics plc to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain.
CONTACTS
MALLINCKRODT
Investor Relations
Daniel J.
Speciale, CPA
Vice President, Investor Relations and IRO
314-654-3638
daniel.speciale@mnk.com
Media
Daniel
Yunger
Kekst CNC
212-521-4879
mallinckrodt@kekstcnc.com
SILENCE THERAPEUTICS
Dr. David Horn Solomon, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Iain Ross, Non-Executive
Chairman
+44 (0) 20 3457 6900
Peel Hunt/LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
James Steel/Oliver Jackson
+44 (0) 20 7418 8900
European IR
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott/Chris Welsh/Angela
Gary
silencetherapeutics@consilium-comms.com
+44 (0) 20 3709 5700
US IR
Westwicke Partners
Peter Vozzo
Peter.vozzo@westwicke.com
442-213-0505
Mallinckrodt, the "M" brand mark and
the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals logo are trademarks of a
Mallinckrodt company. Other brands are
trademarks of a Mallinckrodt company or
their respective owners. © 2019 Mallinckrodt. 7/19
1 Ribonucleic acid
2 Alternative Investment Market, a sub-market of
the London Stock Exchange
3 British Summer Time
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SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc