Silence Therapeutics Launches New Video Game to Support International Thalassemia Day and Raise Disease Awareness

Silence Therapeutics Launches New Video Game to Support International Thalassemia Day and Raise Disease Awareness

• Play the free online game and share your score on social #BloodRunBeta
• Silence partners with Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) to support May 8^th awareness day activities – join the conversation on social media #ITD2021

4 May 2021

LONDON, Silence Therapeutics plc, AIM:SLN and Nasdaq: SLN (“Silence” or “the Company”), a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel short interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet medical need, today announced the launch of a new, retro-inspired, online game to raise awareness of the rare blood disorder, thalassemia, ahead of International Thalassemia Day on Saturday May 8^th 2021.

‘Blood Run Beta’ (www.bloodrunbeta.game) is a free game now available for people of all ages to play and learn more about the daily impact of thalassemia and one of its most common symptoms – fatigue. The aim of the game is to get as far as possible without the energy meter reaching zero, avoiding everyday obstacles that consume energy and ‘powering up’ by finding blood drops. The latter represent blood transfusions – one of the main treatment options for people with more severe forms of the disease. Everyone is encouraged to post their scores on social media using the hashtag #BloodRunBeta. By sharing the game on social media, Silence aims to draw public attention to this underrecognized community with high unmet need.

In addition, Silence is proud to be sponsoring the Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF)’s International Thalassemia Day (ITD) activities. ITD is a global event which takes place on May 8^th each year, organized by TIF. It marks an opportunity for patient advocacy groups, charities, healthcare professionals, pharma/biotech companies and individuals around the world to unite in raising awareness of the condition through a variety of activities. The theme for this year is “Addressing Health Inequalities Across the Global Thalassemia Community” and the public can join in and show their support largely through social media, using the hashtag #ITD2021.

Giles Campion, MD, EVP, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer of Silence Therapeutics said: “Thalassemia is a central focus of our research and while great strides have been made in recent years to raise awareness of the condition, there is still more that can be done. The burden of the disease and current treatment options that can be highly disruptive to daily life for patients and their families are often underrecognized. We are proud to partner with the thalassemia community and support better understanding of this often overlooked condition.”

Dr Androulla Eleftheriou (TIF Executive Director) of Thalassaemia International Federation said: “International Thalassemia Day allows us to commemorate those who are no longer with us and to strengthen the efforts as well as commend those fighting for the right to a better quality of life and equal care across the globe. Increasing public awareness of the condition in new and creative ways is important as we expand our advocacy reach and put thalassemia on the health policy agenda of countries around the world. We are grateful to have partners like Silence who help us further our mission to support affected families on a global scale.”

Enquiries:

About Thalassemia
Thalassemia is an inherited condition which prevents a person’s bone marrow from producing enough healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to all of the cells in the body to help them work normally. There are a number of different types of thalassemia, such as beta-thalassemia. The types vary from a very mild form to a severe disease that can be life-threatening if untreated. Current treatments can usually keep the symptoms under control do not treat the underlying cause of thalassemia or prevent it from progressing. Treatment to manage symptoms often requires regular hospital appointments that can disrupt normal life. More information about Thalassemia including quotes from patients about what it is like to live with the condition can be found here.

About Silence Therapeutics
Silence Therapeutics is developing a new generation of medicines by harnessing the body’s natural mechanism of RNA interference, or RNAi, to inhibit the expression of specific target genes thought to play a role in the pathology of diseases with significant unmet medical need. Silence’s proprietary mRNAi GOLD™ platform can be used to create siRNAs that precisely target and silence disease-associated genes in the liver, which represents a substantial opportunity. Silence’s wholly owned product candidates include SLN360 designed to address the high and prevalent unmet medical need in reducing cardiovascular risk in people born with high levels of lipoprotein(a) and SLN124 designed to address iron loading anemias. Silence also maintains ongoing research and development collaborations with AstraZeneca, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, and Takeda, among others. For more information, please visit https://www.silence-therapeutics.com/.

About TIF
The Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1986 by a small group of patients and parents. Its vision is to ensure equal access to quality health care for every patient with thalassemia and other hemoglobin disorders across the world, with a mission is to promote and implement national control programs for the prevention and treatment of thalassemia and other hemoglobin disorders in every affected country. TIF has a wealth of resources and provides links to local organizations around the world, to help patients or family members find support in their own country.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including with respect to the Company’s clinical development timeline and commercial prospects. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates, and projections about its industry; its beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as ‘anticipates,’ ‘expects,’ ‘intends,’ ‘plans,’ ‘believes,’ ‘seeks,’ ‘estimates,’ and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements, including the potential impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s clinical development and regulatory timelines and plans. The Company cautions security holders and prospective security holders not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the view of the Company only as of the date of this announcement. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or unanticipated events occurring after the date of this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.