IMMUPHARMA PLC — Major Shareholding Notification 2016

Apr 22, 2016

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RNS Number : 0465W

Immupharma PLC

22 April 2016

RNS : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	22 APRIL 2016

TR1 NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST BY AVIVA

ImmuPharma PLC (LSE:IMM), ("ImmuPharma" or the "Company"), the specialist drug discovery and development company, announces that it has received a TR-1 by Aviva plc and its subsidiaries, ("Aviva") confirming its holding in ImmuPharma of 11,285,180 Ordinary Shares. Aviva's current position in the Company is 9.27%.

Full disclosure of the TR1 is shown below:

TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARESi

1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached: ii			Immupharma plc
2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights				√
An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached				√
An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments
An event changing the breakdown of voting rights
Other (please specify):
3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation: iii		Aviva plc & its subsidiaries
4. Full name of shareholder(s)  (if different from 3.):iv		Registered Holder: BNY Norwich Union Nominees Limited 628,858*                                                               Chase (GA Group) Nominees Limited 9,191,337* *denotes direct interest   Chase (GA Group) Nominees Limited 661,222 Chase Nominees Limited 275,292 Vidacos Nominees Limited 528,471
5. Date of the transaction and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached: v		20 April 2016
6. Date on which issuer notified:		21 April 2016
7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: vi, vii		7% to 8% Change at Direct Interest Level

8. Notified details:
A: Voting rights attached to shares viii, ix
Class/type of shares if possible using the ISIN CODE	Situation previous to the triggering transaction				Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Number of Shares		Number of Voting Rights		Number of shares	Number of voting rights		% of  voting rights x
Direct	Direct xi	Indirect xii	Direct		Indirect
Ordinary Shares GB0033711010	11,332,848*		11,332,848*		11,285,180	9,820,195	1,464,985	8.06%		1.21%
* Includes right to recall loaned shares (100,000)
B: Qualifying Financial Instruments
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financial instrument		Expiration date xiii		Exercise/ Conversion Period xiv		Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised/ converted.			% of voting rights

C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments xv, xvi
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financial instrument	Exercise price	Expiration date xvii	Exercise/ Conversion period xviii	Number of voting rights instrument refers to	% of voting rights xix, xx

Total (A+B+C)
Number of voting rights	Percentage of voting rights
11,285,180	9.27%

9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: xxi
The voting rights are managed and controlled by Aviva Investors Global Services Limited, with the following chain of controlled undertakings:- Aviva Investors Global Services Limited: ·      Aviva plc (Parent Company) ·      Aviva Group Holdings Limited (wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva plc) ·      Aviva Investors Holdings Limited (wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva Group Holdings Limited) ·      Aviva Investors Global Services Limited (wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva Investors Holdings Limited)
Proxy Voting:
10. Name of the proxy holder:		See Section 4
11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold:
12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights:
13. Additional information:	Figures are based the revised total number of voting rights of 121,781,219 as per the recent Confirmation of EIS and VCT Qualifying Status and Issue of Equity announcement of 01 March 2016.
14. Contact name:	Neil Whittaker, Aviva plc
15. Contact telephone number:	01603 684420

-Ends-

For further information please contact:

ImmuPharma plc (www.immupharma.org)	+ 44 (0) 20 7152 4080
Tim McCarthy, Chairman
Lisa Baderoon, Head of Investor Relations Twitter: @immupharma	+ 44 (0) 7721 413496
Panmure, Gordon & Co., NOMAD & Broker	+44 (0) 20 7886 2500
Fred Walsh, Duncan Monteith, Corporate Finance Charles Leigh-Pemberton, Corporate Broking

Notes to Editors

ImmuPharma PLC 

ImmuPharma is a pharmaceutical development company listed since 2006 on AIM of the London Stock Exchange (LSE:IMM), focusing on developing novel medicines with high sales potential in specialist markets with serious unmet need. ImmuPharma is led by a commercially focused Board and management team with extensive experience.

ImmuPharma announced on 1 March 2016 the successful completion of a £8.4 million fund raise, comprising a Placing and Subscription together with confirmation of EIS and VCT qualifying status. Monies raised will principally be used to complete the pivotal Phase III trial of Lupuzor™. Following the issue of the New Ordinary Shares referred to above, ImmuPharma will have 121,781,219 ordinary shares of 10 pence each (the "Ordinary Shares") in issue.

LupuzorTM

LupuzorTM (also referred to as forigerimod, rigerimod, IPP-201101 or P140 is ImmuPharma's lead compound and a potential treatment for lupus (or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus), a chronic, potentially life-threatening auto-immune disease. LupuzorTM has a novel mechanism of action aimed at modulating the body's immune system so that it does not attack healthy cells, and avoids causing adverse side effects.  It has the potential to halt the progression of the disease in a substantial proportion of patients.

LupuzorTM has been granted Fast Track status by the US FDA and approval to start Phase III under Special Protocol Assessment (SPA).  This SPA was subsequently amended due to its strong safety and efficacy profile to allow for a reduced number of patients in the pivotal Phase III trial thereby reducing the projected cost and time of development considerably.

The pivotal Phase III clinical study is entitled "A 52-Week, Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of a 200-mcg Dose of IPP-201101 Plus Standard of Care in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus". It is a pivotal study designed to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of IPP-201101 and as a last step prior to the filing of the drug for approval with the US Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") and the European Medicines Agency ("EMA").  For more information please visit: www.ClinicalTrials.gov/lupuzor

Commercial Opportunity

There are an estimated five million people globally suffering from Lupus, with approximately 1.5 million patients in the US, Europe and Japan (Source: Lupus Foundation of America). Current 'standard of care' treatments, including steroids and immunosuppressants, can potentially have either serious side effects for patients or limited effectiveness, with over 60% of patients not adequately treated. GSK's Benlysta is the first Lupus drug approved in over 50 years and paves the path to market for Lupuzor™. Based on conservative estimates, and taking into account that Benlysta is priced currently at approximately $35,000 per patient per year, Lupuzor™ would be entering a market with the potential for multi-billion dollar sales. For more information on Lupuzor™ please visit: www.lupuzor.com

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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