21 Jan 2008 16:09
Silence Therapeutics plcHolding in Company
London 21 January 2008 - Silence Therapeutics plc (the "Company") announces that:
a. it received formal notification on Friday 18 January that (as announced on Thursday 17 January) following the disposal of 7,478,261 ordinary shares of the Company, Introgen Therapeutics Inc no longer has a notifiable interest in the ordinary shares of the Company, and
b. it received notification today that, following an acquisition of ordinary shares on 17 January 2008, Morgan Stanley Securities Limited is now the beneficial owners of 6,961,329 ordinary shares of the Company, representing 5.80% of the Company's total voting rights.
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Enquiries:
For further information, please contact the following:
Silence Therapeutics plc Citigate Dewe Rogerson +44(0)20 7307 1620 +44(0)20 7638 9571 Jeff Vick, Chief Executive Officer David Dible Melvyn Davies, Finance Director Emma Palmer Nominated Advisers Nomura Code Securities Limited +44(0)20 7776 1200 Chris Collins Gerard Harper Notes to Editors
Silence Therapeutics plc (www.silence-therapeutics.com)
Silence Therapeutics plc is a leading RNAi company. RNA interference (RNAi) can selectively 'silence' genes linked to the onset of disease.
Silence Therapeutics has developed novel, proprietary short interfering RNA ('siRNA') molecules, AtuRNAi, which provide a number of advantages over conventional siRNA molecules as they show increased stability against nuclease degradation. In addition, the Company has developed a proprietary systemic delivery system, AtuPLEX. This enables the delivery of siRNA molecules to targeted diseased tissues and cells, whilst increasing their bioavailability and intracellular uptake.
In July 2007, Silence Therapeutics formed a research and development collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop AtuRNAi against five specific targets including those in respiratory indications. The Company's AtuRNAi technology also has been sublicensed to Pfizer through Quark's license to Pfizer of the compound RTP-801i-14 for the treatment of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and a number of other indications. This compound entered the clinic in early 2007. Silence Therapeutics also has licensed to Quark rights to the AtuRNAi structure for its proprietary compound AKIi-5. This compound is in a Phase I human clinical study for treatment of acute kidney injury. In addition, Silence Therapeutics expects to begin the clinical development of its own proprietary AtuRNAi therapeutic molecules for systemic cancer indications in 2008.
Silence Therapeutics is based in London, UK, and Berlin, Germany, and is listed on AIM.
About RNAi
RNA interference (RNAi), a Nobel Prize winning technology, is one of the most exciting areas of drug discovery today. It represents a completely new approach to selectively 'silence' or inactivate disease relevant genes and as such it has the potential to create a new class of therapeutic products. RNAi could therefore offer a therapeutic approach to a broad range of diseases (cancer, infectious diseases, inherited diseases), many of which have been regarded as incurable and are not addressed by current therapeutics, therefore providing a large market opportunity.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. All forward--looking statements are based on information currently available to Silence Therapeutics and Silence Therapeutics assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
SILENCE THERAPEUTICS PLC