London, UK, 5 September 2013 – Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP.L), the drug development company focused on “first-in-class” medicines to treat respiratory diseases, today announces the appointment of Richard Bungay as Chief Financial Officer, initially on a part-time basis, with immediate effect.
Mr. Bungay, 44, has close to 20 years’ experience in corporate roles within R&D-based companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector. Richard is currently part-time CEO of Chroma Therapeutics Ltd, a VC-backed biotechnology company working on the development of novel small molecules for inflammation and oncology, having previously been the CFO of the Company. Prior to this he was Director of Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning at Celltech Group plc until its acquisition by UCB in 2004, with responsibilities that included investor relations and corporate M&A. This followed time at AstraZeneca as Finance Director within the Respiratory and Inflammation Therapy Area. He moved there in 1998 from Celltech where he was Financial Controller, having held a number of positions of increasing seniority since joining the Company in 1994. Richard qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte.
Verona Pharma’s previous CFO, Danny Lowe, who is based in Canada, will work closely with Richard for an interim period ensuring a thorough handover.
Dr. Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO of Verona Pharma, commented, “Richard’s experience in financial management of innovative R&D-based businesses as well as his experience in investor relations will be invaluable to Verona Pharma as we move our key clinical programmes forward and grow the Company. We would like to thank Danny for his significant contributions to Verona Pharma over the last seven years.”
Mr. Bungay commented. “There is significant potential for companies developing innovative medicines focused in areas of high unmet need. I have been impressed by the strength of Verona Pharma’s pipeline and management and look forward to working with the team to rapidly progress these programmes towards market approval.”
For further information please contact:
Verona Pharma plc Tel: 020 7863 3300
Clive Page, Chairman
Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO
WH Ireland Limited Tel: 020 7220 1666
Chris Fielding
Nick Field
FTI Consulting Tel: 020 7831 3113
Julia Phillips
Simon Conway
About Verona Pharma plc
Verona Pharma is developing first-in-class drugs to treat respiratory disease, such as COPD, asthma and chronic severe cough. The Company has three drug programmes, two of which are in Phase II. The lead programme, RPL554, is an innovative dual phosphodiesterease (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibitor with both bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory properties. VRP700 is an innovative product for suppressing chronic severe chough in patients with underlying lung disease. In its third programme, Verona Pharma is investigating novel anti-inflammatory molecules, called NAIPs, for a wide range of respiratory and inflammatory diseases. Verona Pharma is based in London, U.K. For more information, visit: www.veronapharma.com
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