Vernalis plc : Vernalis enters collaboration with Genentech

4 January 2012

LSE: VER

Vernalis plc enters into drug discovery collaboration with Genentech

Vernalis plc (LSE: VER) announced today that it has entered into a drug discovery collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG: OTCQX: RHHBY) utilising Vernalis' fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform against an undisclosed target.

The financial terms of this collaboration were not disclosed.

Ian Garland, CEO of Vernalis, commented: "We are delighted that Genentech has selected Vernalis to work with it on this target.  Their selection of Vernalis further endorses our market leading fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform and validates our strategy to substantially fund our research activities through collaborations.  We look forward to building a close working relationship with Genentech and ultimately a successful collaboration."

James Sabry, Vice President of Genentech Partnering, said "Genentech constantly seeks collaborations like this one to develop therapies that offer the potential of advancing the standard of care and making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients. We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with Vernalis."

-- ends --

Enquiries:

Notes to Editors

About Genentech
Founded more than 30 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious or life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For additional information about the company, please visit.

About Vernalis

Vernalis is a revenue generating development stage pharmaceutical company with significant expertise drug development.  The Group has one marketed product, frovatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine, and eight candidates in development, seven of which are designated priority programmes.  Four of these priority development programmes are currently unpartnered and three are partnered. Pipeline programmes are derived from both our own research activities where we have significant expertise in fragment and structure based drug discovery, as well as from collaborations.  Our technologies, capabilities and products are endorsed by collaborations with Endo, Genentech, GSK, Lundbeck, Menarini, Novartis and Servier.

Vernalis Forward-Looking Statement

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events including the clinical development and regulatory clearance of the Company's products, the Company's ability to find partners for the development and commercialisation of its products, as well as the Company's future capital raising activities. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Company's research strategies, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the ability of the Company to identify and agree beneficial terms with suitable partners for the commercialisation and/or development of its products, as well as the achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, the acceptance of frovatriptan and other products by consumers and medical professionals, the successful integration of completed mergers and acquisitions and achievement of expected synergies from such transactions, and the ability of the Company to identify and consummate suitable strategic and business combination transactions.