Holding(s) in Company

RNS Number : 1806Z

Immupharma PLC

25 May 2016

 

RNS : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 May 2016

NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST BY ALTO INVEST

ImmuPharma PLC (LSE:IMM) ("ImmuPharma" or the "Company"), the specialist drug discovery and development company, announces that on 24 May 2016 it received notification by Alto Invest and its subsidiaries ("Alto") confirming its holding in ImmuPharma of 4,870,367 million Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company, representing 3.99% of the Company's total voting rights,  crossing above the 3% threshold.

Alto Invest is an independent asset management firm regulated by the French financial markets authority and is a specialised investor in European small and mid-cap companies.

Commenting, Tim McCarthy, Chairman of ImmuPharma, said: "Alto initially participated in ImmuPharma's successful £8.4 million fundraising in February this year following detailed due-diligence of our Lupuzor™ Phase III pivotal trial.  We are delighted that it has increased its holding and we can now disclose that Alto is a significant shareholder in ImmuPharma."

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For further information please contact: ImmuPharma plc (www.immupharma.org) + 44 (0) 20 7152 4080 Tim McCarthy, Chairman Lisa Baderoon, Head of Investor Relations Twitter: @immupharma         + 44 (0) 7721 413 496 Panmure, Gordon & Co., NOMAD & Broker [phone] Fred Walsh, Duncan Monteith, Corporate Finance Charles Leigh-Pemberton, Corporate Broking

Notes to Editors

ImmuPharma PLC 

ImmuPharma is a pharmaceutical development company listed since 2006 on AIM of the London Stock Exchange (LSE:IMM), focusing on developing novel medicines with high sales potential in specialist markets with serious unmet need. ImmuPharma is led by a commercially focused Board and management team with extensive experience.

ImmuPharma announced on 1 March 2016 the successful completion of a £8.4 million fund raise, comprising a Placing and Subscription together with confirmation of EIS and VCT qualifying status. Monies raised will principally be used to complete the pivotal Phase III trial of Lupuzor™. Following the issue of the New Ordinary Shares ImmuPharma has 121,781,219 ordinary shares of 10 pence each (the "Ordinary Shares") in issue.

Lupuzor^TM

Lupuzor^TM (also referred to as forigerimod, rigerimod, IPP-201101 or P140 is ImmuPharma's lead compound and a potential treatment for lupus (or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus), a chronic, potentially life-threatening auto-immune disease. Lupuzor^TM has a novel mechanism of action aimed at modulating the body's immune system so that it does not attack healthy cells, and avoids causing adverse side effects.  It has the potential to halt the progression of the disease in a substantial proportion of patients.

Lupuzor^TM has been granted Fast Track status by the US FDA and approval to start Phase III under Special Protocol Assessment (SPA).  This SPA was subsequently amended due to its strong safety and efficacy profile to allow for a reduced number of patients in the pivotal Phase III trial thereby reducing the projected cost and time of development considerably.

The pivotal Phase III clinical study is entitled "A 52-Week, Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of a 200-mcg Dose of IPP-201101 Plus Standard of Care in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus". It is a pivotal study designed to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of IPP-201101 and as a last step prior to the filing of the drug for approval with the US Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") and the European Medicines Agency ("EMA").  For more information please visit: www.ClinicalTrials.gov/lupuzor

Commercial Opportunity

There are an estimated five million people globally suffering from Lupus, with approximately 1.5 million patients in the US, Europe and Japan (Source: Lupus Foundation of America). Current 'standard of care' treatments, including steroids and immunosuppressants, can potentially have either serious side effects for patients or limited effectiveness, with over 60% of patients not adequately treated. GSK's Benlysta is the first Lupus drug approved in over 50 years and paves the path to market for Lupuzor™. Based on conservative estimates, and taking into account that Benlysta is priced currently at approximately $35,000 per patient per year, Lupuzor™ would be entering a market with the potential for multi-billion dollar sales. For more information on Lupuzor™ please visit: www.lupuzor.com

 

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