SAREUM HOLDINGS PLC

(“Sareum” or “the Company”)

HALF-YEARLY RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

Sareum Holdings plc (AIM: SAR), the specialist cancer drug discovery and development business, announces good progress with its cancer and autoimmune disease research programmes and its half-yearly results for the six months ended 31 December 2014.

Operational highlights

• Co-development agreement with CRT Pioneer Fund to advance CHK1 programme continues to make good progress as it moves through preclinical development and towards Phase I clinical trials.
• Good progress being made to optimise process for larger scale production and develop new formulations to administer the Aurora+FLT3 candidate molecule via the oral route.
• The discovery and potential of SAR-20347, the TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor targeting autoimmune diseases reported in peer-reviewed Journal of Immunology.
• The granting of several key patents that secure the intellectual property around programme drug candidates.

Financial highlights

• Cash at the Company’s bank at period end was £429,000 (2013: £1,598,000) and the Company’s unspent investment in the CHK1 Project was £447,000.
• Loss on ordinary activities (after taxation) of £659,000 (2013: Loss of £350,000) in line with expectations and reflecting commitments to co-development agreements.

Dr Tim Mitchell, CEO of Sareum Holdings plc, said: “We are very pleased with the progress that has been made in the last six months.  CHK1 in particular is reaching a crucial phase of development as it nears its first in-human trials.”

Half-yearly results for the six months ended 31 December 2014

The full report is available as a pdf document: Financial Results for the Six Months Ended 31/12/2014

Chairman and CEO's Statement

The first half of the year has seen activity concentrate on the development of our three lead programmes.  In addition to these results, a Research Update has been released today, which gives more detail on the progress that has been made. 

Programme updates

The CHK1 programme, which is progressing in collaboration with CRT Pioneer Fund, is now reaching a critical phase as it nears completion of toxicology studies. Following the results of these studies, application for permission to commence Phase I clinical trials will be submitted. This is now expected to take place in the first half of the Company’s financial year to 30 June 2016 and will trigger a financial commitment of up to £797,500 by Sareum.

We are also making good progress with our TYK2 and Aurora+FLT3 programmes.  Both programmes continue to demonstrate potent efficacy in models of debilitating and life-threatening diseases.

The granting of several key patents in important major markets secures the intellectual property that underpins all our discoveries. 

Financial review

The Company ended the period with net assets of £1,074,000 (2013: £1,650,000) of which £429,000 (2013: £1,598,000) comprised of cash at bank. Non-cash assets include £447,000 of unspent investment in the CHK1 co-development partnership and R&D tax credit (£166,000, of which £76,000 has recently been received).

The loss on ordinary activities (after taxation) was £659,000 (2013: Loss of £350,000). The year-on year increase reflects the increased investment in our research programmes, particularly CHK1, as they reach more advanced stages of development.

Outlook

We have reached a critical stage in the development of our programmes, particularly CHK1.  The next phase could be transformative in terms of the Company reaching its goal of delivering a clinical-stage research programme.  Later stage programmes achieve higher asset values and, while there is always risk with any drug development, there is also significant potential upside.

As the programme development progresses, we continue to engage with potential licence partners to discuss commercialisation opportunities. To maintain the product pipeline, particularly in the event of a programme being licenced, we continue to investigate sources of new research opportunities.

We believe the Company is well placed to secure positive outcomes for its existing programmes and collaborations. With this in mind we look forward with cautious optimism.