We are delighted to share Arecor's announcement of its first day of dealings on AIM.  Arecor is part of the Downing Healthcare EIS portfolio and Downing FOUR VCT. 

Arecor Therapeutics plc, a globally focused biopharmaceutical company that is targeting improving patient care by bringing innovative medicines to market through the enhancement of existing therapeutic products, is pleased to announce the admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM, a market operated by London Stock Exchange plc ("Admission").   

Admission follows a successful oversubscribed placing by Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited ("Panmure Gordon"), raising gross proceeds of £20.0 million at a price of 226 pence per share. On Admission the Company will have a market capitalisation of approximately £62.5 million. 

Trading of shares will begin at 8.00 am today under the ticker symbol "AREC" and the ISIN number GB00BMWLM973. 

Sarah Howell, Chief Executive Officer of Arecor, said: “Today represents an important milestone for Arecor and we are very pleased to be listing on AIM.  This IPO will allow us to continue to grow the business through the development of our own proprietary diabetes and specialty hospital products whilst creating further value through our technology licensing partnerships. We were delighted by the support and interest we received during this transaction which is testament to the potential of our innovative proprietary formulation technology platform, Arestat™. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our new and existing shareholders for their support and we are looking forward to embarking on this next exciting chapter in the Company’s development.” 

Placing Statistics 

Unless otherwise stated, the capitalised terms used in this announcement have the same meanings as in the Admission Document. Copies of the Admission Document are available on the Company’s website at www.arecor.com

For more information, please contact:

Arecor Therapeutics plc Dr Sarah Howell, Chief Executive Officer, Tel: +44 (0) 1223 426060 Email: info@arecor.com

Susan Lowther, Chief Financial Officer, Tel: +44 (0) 1223 426060 Email: info@arecor.com

Consilium Strategic Communications Chris Gardner, David Daley, Angela Gray Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700 Email: arecor@consilium-comms.com

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Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (NOMAD and Broker)Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500 Freddy Crossley, Emma Earl (Corporate Finance) or Rupert Dearden (Corporate Broking)

Company Highlights

• A revenue generating biopharmaceutical company that is targeting improving patient care by bringing innovative medicines to market through the enhancement of existing therapeutic products using its innovative proprietary formulation technology platform, Arestat™.
• Existing and near-term revenue potential: Arecor’s strategy is to develop novel formulations of biopharmaceutical products with enhanced properties and to partner with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies under a revenue generating licence model with the potential to receive royalties and significant milestone payments. Arecor currently has a total of four active licensing agreements in place with partners that include Hikma and Inhibrx.
• Broad portfolio with significant addressable markets: Arecor’s initial therapeutic focus is diabetes, with three insulin-based products in development. In addition, Arecor has a portfolio of different Ready-to-Use (“RTU”) and Ready-to-Administer (“RTA”) hospital specialty products in development.
• Reduced development risk and timelines: By developing novel formulations of existing, approved therapeutic products, the Directors’ believe that the majority of Arecor’s specialty hospital products can be brought to market faster, and at lower risk and cost, than would be expected for standard new drug development. For Arecor’s diabetes programmes, the safety and efficacy of insulin is already proven and there is likely a lower burden regarding clinical studies that are required for approval.
• Broad applicability across growing pharmaceutical markets: Arecor partners with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to apply the Arestat™ technology to their proprietary products under a technology licensing model. These products can be at any stage in development from early phase clinical development through to products that are already on the market. The main areas of applications of the technology are novel biologicals, biosimilars, therapeutic vaccines and therapeutic peptides.
• Extensive intellectual property protection: Arecor has developed extensive intellectual property protection both of its Arestat™ formulation technology and of the novel formulations of products it develops, comprising patented formulation platforms, know-how, product related IP and trade secrets, which maximise innovation, protection and commercial success.
• Strong management team and Board: Arecor’s management team has significant experience in the specialty pharmaceutical industry and of managing high growth companies, capable of executing a major value proposition in the specialty pharmaceutical field.

Use of Proceeds

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to:

• Progress the Company’s lead diabetes products
• Develop and expand its pipeline of specialty hospital RTU and RTA products
• Build the team
• Bolster working capital and strengthen balance sheet

Admission

The Directors believe that Admission will be an important step in the Group's development and will assist the Group in its development by raising its public profile, widening its shareholder base, providing potential future access to development capital to progress its current and future pipeline of proprietary products and enabling it to expand within its chosen therapy areas and expand its commercial partnerships. It will also provide the Group with the ability to incentivise its employees through share incentive plans, which should assist it in continuing to attract, retain and motivate high calibre employees.

For out more information on our Ventures EIS.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Panmure Gordon, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with Admission. Panmure Gordon will not regard any other person as its client in relation to Admission and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the regulatory protections afforded to its clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.

Neither Panmure Gordon, nor any of its directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to the Company, its subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

Important notice: This document is intended for retail investors and their advisers is for information purposes only. It does not form part of a direct offer or invitation to purchase, subscribe for or dispose of securities and no reliance should be placed on it. Downing does not offer investment or tax advice or make recommendations regarding investments.  

Downing LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 545025).  Registered in England and Wales (No. OC341575). Registered Office: 6th Floor, St Magnus House, 3 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6HD.