Issue of Equity
Evolutec Group PLC
25 October 2006
For immediate release
25 October 2006
Evolutec Group plc
('Evolutec' or the 'Company')
Institutional Placing Raises £2.8 million
Evolutec Group plc (AIM: EVC), the biopharmaceutical company developing novel
products for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases,
announces that it has raised approximately £2.8 million before expenses through
a placing of 2,359,090 new ordinary shares of 10 pence each (the 'Placing Shares
') (the 'Placing'). The Placing Shares, which represent approximately 10% of the
Company's issued share capital prior to the Placing, have been placed with a
range of existing investors at a placing price of 118 pence per share (the '
Placing Price'). The Placing Price represents a discount of approximately 8 per
cent to the closing middle market price on AIM, a market operated by the London
Stock Exchange plc market, on 24 October 2006.
It is intended that the majority of the proceeds will be used to maintain the
pace of development of the Company's lead product development candidate, rEV131,
a novel histamine binding molecule, by scaling up the manufacturing capability
to meet new expectations and to fund studies to validate and automate filling of
the nasal spray device. The remainder will be used to conduct the necessary
safety studies and develop a clinical grade manufacturing process for Evolutec's
second product development candidate, rEV576, a novel inhibitor of complement
activation, to enable it to commence clinical trials in the second half of 2007.
Evolutec expects to deliver four clinical results in the next nine months.
rEV131, is currently in a Phase IIb trial for allergic rhinitis (hayfever) and
in a proof of concept Phase II trial for inflammation of the eye following
cataract surgery. The allergic rhinitis trial is due to deliver results by the
year-end and the post-cataract trial during the first half of 2007. Two further
clinical trials for rEV131 in asthma and dry eye are scheduled to begin in early
2007. Both of these trials are expected to deliver results around the middle of
that year.
rEV576 has shown encouraging preclinical results in the autoimmune diseases
myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, It has also demonstrated
promising preclinical results in asthma. Clinical trials for rEV576 are expected
to commence in the second half of 2007, following safety studies and the
production of clinical grade material. Evolutec's third product development
candidate, rEV598, has shown limited efficacy in a preclinical model of
chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting ('CINV'). The Company is not expecting
to commit further funds to rEV598 in the immediate future.
The Placing was undertaken pursuant to a resolution of the shareholders at the
Company's Annual General Meeting on 26 April 2006 which approved the
disapplication of shareholders' pre-emption rights in relation to issues for an
aggregate nominal amount of £235,909 (being equivalent to approximately 10 per
cent. of the then issued share capital of the Company).
Application will be made today for the Placing Shares to be admitted and to
trade on AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange plc. The Placing is
conditional on admission, which is expected to become effective on 27 October
2006. When issued, the Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with
the Company's existing ordinary shares. Following the placing, Evolutec will
have a total of 25,949,996 Ordinary Shares of 10 pence each in issue.
Mark Carnegie Brown, Evolutec's Chief Executive, said:
'Evolutec expects to deliver four clinical trial results in the next nine months
and have two clinical development candidates in 2007.
These funds will ensure that momentum is maintained and key enabling actions
implemented in rhinitis, Evolutec's lead development programme. They will also
enable the acceleration of rEV576.'
Enquiries:
Evolutec Group plc 0118 922 4480
Mark Carnegie Brown, Chief Executive Officer
Nicholas Badman, Chief Financial Officer
www.evolutec.co.uk
Bridgewell Limited 020 7003 3000
Shaun Dobson
Xavier de Mol
Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113
David Yates
Ben Brewerton
Notes for Editors:
About Evolutec
Evolutec, which is based in Reading, UK, is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company with a focus on allergy, inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
The Company has completed a positive 112 patient proof of concept Phase IIa
clinical trial with rEV131, its lead product development candidate, in allergic
rhinitis. rEV131 met the primary endpoint of reducing the sum of symptom scores
at statistically significant levels within 45 minutes of administration. In
addition to the Phase IIb trial in rhinitis and the proof of concept Phase II
trial in post-cataract, Evolutec also intends to complete a proof of concept
Phase II trial in dry eye in 2007. Following positive preclinical data, Evolutec
intends to undertake a Phase I trial with rEV131 in asthma in 2007.
The Company's second preclinical development candidate, rEV576, is a complement
inhibitor. rEV576 has demonstrated preclinical activity against the autoimmune
diseases myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, asthma and acute
myocardial infarction ('AMI') (heart attack). Evolutec has established a
research collaboration with Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, to
undertake further preclinical work with rEV576 in myasthenia gravis.
The rights to Evolutec's vaccine technology for animals are partnered with
Merial. Merial is currently undertaking work in tick-borne diseases.
Evolutec is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and develops
therapeutics originally isolated from the saliva of ticks. The tick remains
undetected by its hosts, including humans, by injecting an array of molecules
into the skin that suppresses host immunity. These stealth molecules have
undergone millions of years of natural evolution to select a promising efficacy,
potency and safety profile. Evolutec employs the tick's evolutionary stealth
technology to offer the potential of treating human diseases.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange