(IMM.L) ImmuPharma PLC Buy/Sell

RNS Number : 0562F Immupharma PLC 05 January 2010
Immupharma plc

5 January 2010

Additional Listing and Total Voting Rights

Following the receipt of a notice of exercise of options, application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the admission of 365,000 new ordinary shares to trading on AIM. The admission of the new ordinary shares will become effective today. The new ordinary shares rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares of the Company.

Following the allotment of the new ordinary shares mentioned above and the allotment of the new ordinary shares announced separately today, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 81,091,463 Ordinary Shares of 10p each which entitle the holder to one vote per share. Therefore, the total number of voting rights is 81,091,463.

The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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RNS Number : 0020F Immupharma PLC 05 January 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5 January 2010

Immupharma plc

ING take 4% stake in ImmuPharma plc

ImmuPharma plc (LSE:IMM), the specialist discovery and development pharmaceutical company is pleased to announce that ING, Belgium (ING) has taken a 4% stake in the company with the exercise of warrants issued in December 2006. These warrants were exercised on 24 December 2009.

The warrants were originally issued in December, 2006 when ING agreed to advance EUR3,000,000 to the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, ImmuPharma France SA, by way of a Bond which was interest free and unsecured. At the same time, ImmuPharma issued warrants whereby ING could subscribe EUR3,000,000 for 3,245,280 new ImmuPharma plc shares at any time during the three years ending 31 December 2009. At the Euro/Sterling exchange rate when these financing arrangements were agreed, the effective subscription price of the warrants was 62 pence per share. These arrangements were put in place to ensure that the warrants could be exercised to fund the repayment of the Bond as required.

ING will have 3,245,280 shares following the exercise. Application has been made to London Stock Exchange plc for the admission of the new ordinary shares to trading on AIM. Following the share issue and a separate, recent exercise of options, ImmuPharma will have 81,091,463 ordinary shares of 10p each in issue.

Richard Warr, Chairman, said: "ING has been a strong supporter of ImmuPharma over the last three years. The acquisition of a 4% stake in ImmuPharma by this eminent life science specialist investor underlines their confidence in the future development of the Company. We are delighted that our continued progress has attracted such prestigious institutional investors as ING."

Dr. Denis Biju-Duval of ING, said: "We have been delighted to be a part of ImmuPharma's progress over the past few years and are pleased to confirm our belief in the Company's future through this shareholding. Immupharma's management team has demonstrated during the last three years that it was able to deliver excellent progress in term of clinical results and commercial perspectives on its major compound while strengthening its links with some major research partners as illustrated by the ongoing relationship with CNRS. ING Belgium will continue to support the strategy pursued in order to create both clear benefits for many ill people and shareholder value in the medium and long term. "

RNS Number : 4960D Immupharma PLC 03 December 2009

For Immediate Release 3 DECEMBER 2009

ImmuPharma PLC

("ImmuPharma")

R&D Symposium at the CNRS in Paris

Analyst Visit

ImmuPharma PLC (LSE: IMM) the specialist discovery and development pharmaceutical company, will today hold a R&D Symposium in Paris for analysts to discuss its cancer drug IPP-204106. The presentation will be given by both ImmuPharma's management team and key scientists from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France's leading scientific research institution.

IP-204106 is ImmuPharma's lead compound for cancer. The rights for this compound have been obtained through the Company's ongoing research collaboration with the CNRS. The molecule is a nucleolin antagonist and has a dual mechanism of action, acting both in preventing angiogenesis as well as proliferation. Preclinical data has shown that nucleolin antagonists inhibit the growth of tumours and metastasis in many cancer types. Having confirmed EUR1.15m of French government grants, ImmuPharma progressed clinical development plans of IPP-204106 during 2009 and are likely to initiate a Phase I trial in early 2010 in cancer patients.

No other new material information will be disclosed on the visit. The presentation will be available from Buchanan Communications.

By Toni Clarke

BOSTON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - An experimental drug that Cephalon Inc had hoped to add to its product line-up proved disappointing in a trial of patients with a rare type of inflammation of the esophagus, sending the company's shares down as much as 10 percent on Monday.
The drug, Cinquil, was developed by privately held Ception Therapeutics Inc, to treat pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis, or EoE. Cephalon paid $100 million to Ception in January for an option to acquire the company and Cinquil, known generically as reslizumab, for $250 million.
"This eliminates one of the only sources of near-to-intermediate-term upside," said Thomas Russo, an analyst at Robert W. Baird, in a research note. "We recommend assuming that reslizumab will not be filed for approval in EE without another trial, if ever."
The drug had been expected to generate peak annual sales of around $500 million.
Shares of Cephalon, a drug company built on the back of its top-selling sleep-disorder drug Provigil, have fallen 34 percent since reaching a 52-week high of $81.35 in February, as they have also been hurt by concern that Nuvigil, Provigil's successor, will have trouble reaching Provigil's revenue level. Provigil loses patent protection in 2012.
The disappointing Cinquil data come less than a week after a trial of a potential new drug for lupus also showed mixed results in a clinical trial.
The drug, Lupuzor, is being developed by British drugmaker ImmuPharma Plc. Cephalon agreed in February to pay ImmuPharma $15 million for an option to acquire an exclusive, worldwide license for Lupuzor.
"Lupuzor is a long shot," said Avik Roy, an analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt & Co, in a research note. "The data were encouraging in parts, but early; and even if the drug were to succeed in larger trials, the earliest it could get on the market is 2015."
Analysts expect Cephalon's shares to remain under pressure until it announces a new partnership or acquisition or until more clinical data are released later this year and early next year.
Frazer, Pennsylvania-based Cephalon and Ception have agreed to extend Cephalon's option exercise period until after results of a mid-stage trial of Cinquil in a different condition -- eosinophilic asthma.

"We note that Cinquil was not included in our estimates and that due to the option structure of Cephalon and Ception's agreement, Cephalon's financial exposure to Cinquil is somewhat limited," said Chris Schott, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, in a research note. "That said ... with Cinquil representing one of Cephalon's visible late-stage pipeline assets, we would expect the news to clearly weigh on sentiment surrounding Cephalon's shares."
The trial of Cinquil in EoE was designed to evaluate improvement in two endpoints. The first measured changes in the blood level of a type of white blood cell associated with the disease. The second measured changes in symptoms of the disease.
While there was a statistically significant reduction in white blood cells known as eosinophils in patients taking Cinquil compared with those taking a placebo, there was not a significant improvement in clinical symptoms.
Cephalon said the lack of statistical significance in clinical symptoms was because there was also a strong improvement in symptoms in patients taking the placebo.
The study evaluated the drug in 226 children between the age of five and 18. About 80,000 children in the United States have EoE, according to the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
EoE decreases the ability of the esophagus to stretch, making it harder to swallow and absorb solid food.
Symptoms of the disease in children include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and a failure to thrive.

"We view the reslizumab failure as a significant setback," William Tanner, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets, said in a research note. "Cephalon may be compelled to pursue additional in-licensing/acquisition as a result."
Still, some analysts believe Cephalon's shares could bounce back soon.
"It seems that some investors are taking advantage of the early weakness to buy calls," said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy.
Overall options trading volume was double the norm, with about 26,000 calls traded versus 6,979 puts near midday, according to Trade Alert.
Cephalon's shares were down $5.23, or 8.8 percent to $54.38 in afternoon trading on Nasdaq. Earlier they fell as low as $53.44.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel)

(Reporting by Toni Clarke, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Gunna Dickson) Keywords: CEPHALON/ (toni.clarke@thomsonreuters.com; 617-856-4340; reuters messaging: toni.clarke.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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