Guildford, UK, 21 September 2006: ReNeuron Group plc (LSE: RENE) today announces that all resolutions put to its Shareholders at its 2006 Annual General Meeting (the AGM) were passed.
Amongst other matters, pursuant to the terms of the AGM resolutions, each of the Company’s Ordinary Shares, previously of 10p in nominal value, were subdivided into one new Ordinary Share of 1p in nominal value and one Deferred Share of 9p in nominal value. All such Deferred Shares were thereafter repurchased by the Company for 1p in aggregate and have now been cancelled.
Shareholders should note that the reduction in the nominal value of each Ordinary Share does not result in a change in the number of Ordinary Shares in issue nor in any change in the underlying value of the business and assets of the Company.
Commenting at the AGM, Professor Trevor Jones, Chairman of ReNeuron, said:
“Whilst ReNeuron’s recent share price performance has been disappointing, we do not believe it is representative of the continuing progress the Company is making with its therapeutic and non-therapeutic stem cell programmes. In particular, the late pre-clinical development of our ReN001 stem cell therapy for stroke has proceeded to plan, with the application to commence initial clinical studies currently being assembled. As mentioned in earlier announcements, we intend to file this application to the US FDA before the end of this year.”
Notes to editors
ReNeuron is a leading, UK-based adult stem cell therapy business. The Group is applying its novel stem cell platform technologies in the development of ground-breaking stem cell therapies to serve significant and unmet or poorly-met clinical needs.
ReNeuron has used its c-mycERTAM technology to generate genetically stable neural stem cell lines. This technology platform has multi-national patent protection and is fully regulated by means of a chemically-induced safety switch. Cell growth can therefore be completely arrested prior to in vivo implantation.
The Group’s lead stem cell therapy, ReN001 for chronic stroke disability, is in late pre-clinical development. The Company plans to file for approval to commence a Phase I clinical study in stroke by the end of 2006, with the study commencing as soon as possible thereafter. There are an estimated 50 million1 stroke survivors worldwide, approximately half of which are left with permanent disabilities. The healthcare costs of caring for these patients is estimated to amount to $45 billion2 in the US alone.
The Group has also generated pre-clinical efficacy data with its ReN005 stem cell therapy for Huntington’s disease, a genetic and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects around 1 in 10,000 people. This programme is in pre-clinical development.
In addition to its stroke and Huntington’s disease programmes, ReNeuron is developing stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease, Type 1 diabetes and diseases of the retina.
ReNeuron has also leveraged its stem cell technologies into non-therapeutic areas – its ReNcell range of cell lines for use in drug discovery applications in the pharmaceutical industry.
ReNeuron’s shares are traded on the London AIM market under the symbol RENE.L, and its warrants are traded under the symbol RENW.L.
Further information on ReNeuron and its products can be found at www.reneuron.com.
- MOSES (Morbidity and mortality after stroke – Eprosartan vs nitrendipine for secondary prevention) study, Feb 2006
- American Heart Association, Reporting Standards for Carotid Artery Angioplasty and Stent Placement, (Stroke, 2004; 35:e112).
Further information
ReNeuron
Michael Hunt, CEO Tel: 44 (0)1483 302 560
John Sinden, CSO
Financial Dynamics
David Yates Tel: 44 (0)20 7831 3113
Sarah Macleod