Vernalis and Paul Capital Healthcare Sign Euro 18.4 Million Financing Agreement

NEW YORK and WINNERSH, England, April 21 /PRNewswire/ — Paul Capital Healthcare and Vernalis plc today announced that they have signed a financing agreement relating to frovatriptan, Vernalis’ product for the treatment of migraine. Under the agreement, Vernalis will receive approximately euro 18.4 million in cash from Paul Capital Healthcare and, in return, Paul Capital Healthcare will receive approximately 90 per cent of Menarini’s payments to Vernalis under their exclusive license and supply agreement for the commercialization of frovatriptan in Europe and certain other territories. Vernalis will continue to supply Menarini with frovatriptan active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Frovatriptan is currently approved for the acute treatment of migraine in Europe, the United States, Canada and seven Central American countries.

“Earlier this year, Vernalis restructured its operations to focus on its innovative discovery programs and to advance its promising pipeline of development stage products to the point at which they can be partnered. This transaction with Paul Capital Healthcare secures significant, non-dilutive funds for Vernalis, giving us the platform to rebuild new shareholder value in the medium term,” said Tony Weir, CFO, Vernalis.

Dr. Ken Macleod, a partner at Paul Capital Healthcare, said: “Migraine affects about 10 percent of people and leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity each year. After extensively evaluating both the clinical and commercial data for frovatriptan, we believe this drug is positioned to capture a growing share of the market for migraine therapies. Growth capital is the hallmark of the companies and products in which Paul Capital Healthcare invests, and provides a compelling rationale for adding our investment in Vernalis and frovatriptan to our portfolio of investments.”

About Paul Capital Partners and Paul Capital Healthcare

Through its funds, Paul Capital Healthcare is one of the largest dedicated healthcare investors globally, with more than $1.4 billion in equity capital commitments and debt facilities under management. Combined, the Paul Capital Healthcare funds have invested more than $925 million in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors. These investments are focused on commercial stage companies and products, and consist of investments in the form of royalties, revenue interests, debt and equity. Additional information on Paul Capital Healthcare can be found at http://www.paulcapitalhealthcare.com/. Paul Capital Partners manages nearly $5 billion in equity capital commitments for its three investment platforms, which include Paul Capital Healthcare, Private Equity Secondaries and Top Tier Fund-of-Funds. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Paris, London, Hong Kong, and Sao Paolo.

About Vernalis

Vernalis is a specialty bio-pharmaceutical company focused on products marketed to specialist neurologists. The company has two marketed products, Frova(R) and Apokyn(R), and a development pipeline focused on neurology and central nervous system disorders. The company has six products in clinical development and collaborations with leading, global pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, Biogen Idec, Endo, Menarini and Chiesi:

   Product  Indication Phase Phase   Phase  Registration   Market  Marketing                         I     II     III                           Rights    Apokyn(R) Parkinson’s                                     X      North             Disease                                               America    Frova(R)  Migraine                                        X     Menarini                                                               (EU-royalties)              Menstrual                                             Menarini   Frova(R)  Migraine                   X                      (EU-royalties)             Prevention    V1512     Parkinson’s        X                                 World Wide             Disease                                            (excl. Italy)   V10153    Thrombotic         X                                 World Wide             Disorders    V3381     Neuropathic        X                                 World Wide             Pain    V2006     Parkinson’s        X                                     US             Disease                                             Co-promotion                                                                 Biogen Idec   V24343    Obesity     X                                        World Wide   AUY922    Cancer      X                                     None – royalty                                                                  (Novartis)     Contact Information    Vernalis plc                             Tel: +44 (0) 118 977 3133   Tony Weir, Chief Financial Officer    Brunswick Group (Vernalis inquiries)     Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959   Jon Coles   Justine McIllroy   Alex Tweed    Paul Capital Healthcare                  Tel: +44 (0) 20 7514 0754   Ken Macleod, Partner    Lazar Partners (Paul Capital Healthcare  Tel: +1-646-871-8487   inquiries)   Stephanie Seiler                         Tel:  +1-206-713-0124                                            Email:sseiler@lazarpartners.com  

Paul Capital Healthcare

CONTACT: Tony Weir, Chief Financial Officer, Vernalis plc,+44 118 977 3133; Jon Coles, Justine McIllroy, Alex Tweed, all of BrunswickGroup (Vernalis inquiries), +44 20 7404 5959; Ken Macleod, Partner, PaulCapital Healthcare, +44 20 7514 0754; Lazar Partners (Paul Capital Healthcareinquiries), +1-646-871-8487, Stephanie Seiler,+1-206-713-0124, sseiler@lazarpartners.com

Web site: http://www.paulcapitalhealthcare.com/