Issue of Equity

Evolutec Group PLC 25 October 2006 For immediate release 25 October 2006 Evolutec Group plc ('Evolutec' or the 'Company') Institutional Placing Raises £2.8 million Evolutec Group plc (AIM: EVC), the biopharmaceutical company developing novel products for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, announces that it has raised approximately £2.8 million before expenses through a placing of 2,359,090 new ordinary shares of 10 pence each (the 'Placing Shares ') (the 'Placing'). The Placing Shares, which represent approximately 10% of the Company's issued share capital prior to the Placing, have been placed with a range of existing investors at a placing price of 118 pence per share (the ' Placing Price'). The Placing Price represents a discount of approximately 8 per cent to the closing middle market price on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange plc market, on 24 October 2006. It is intended that the majority of the proceeds will be used to maintain the pace of development of the Company's lead product development candidate, rEV131, a novel histamine binding molecule, by scaling up the manufacturing capability to meet new expectations and to fund studies to validate and automate filling of the nasal spray device. The remainder will be used to conduct the necessary safety studies and develop a clinical grade manufacturing process for Evolutec's second product development candidate, rEV576, a novel inhibitor of complement activation, to enable it to commence clinical trials in the second half of 2007. Evolutec expects to deliver four clinical results in the next nine months. rEV131, is currently in a Phase IIb trial for allergic rhinitis (hayfever) and in a proof of concept Phase II trial for inflammation of the eye following cataract surgery. The allergic rhinitis trial is due to deliver results by the year-end and the post-cataract trial during the first half of 2007. Two further clinical trials for rEV131 in asthma and dry eye are scheduled to begin in early 2007. Both of these trials are expected to deliver results around the middle of that year. rEV576 has shown encouraging preclinical results in the autoimmune diseases myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, It has also demonstrated promising preclinical results in asthma. Clinical trials for rEV576 are expected to commence in the second half of 2007, following safety studies and the production of clinical grade material. Evolutec's third product development candidate, rEV598, has shown limited efficacy in a preclinical model of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting ('CINV'). The Company is not expecting to commit further funds to rEV598 in the immediate future. The Placing was undertaken pursuant to a resolution of the shareholders at the Company's Annual General Meeting on 26 April 2006 which approved the disapplication of shareholders' pre-emption rights in relation to issues for an aggregate nominal amount of £235,909 (being equivalent to approximately 10 per cent. of the then issued share capital of the Company). Application will be made today for the Placing Shares to be admitted and to trade on AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange plc. The Placing is conditional on admission, which is expected to become effective on 27 October 2006. When issued, the Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing ordinary shares. Following the placing, Evolutec will have a total of 25,949,996 Ordinary Shares of 10 pence each in issue. Mark Carnegie Brown, Evolutec's Chief Executive, said: 'Evolutec expects to deliver four clinical trial results in the next nine months and have two clinical development candidates in 2007. These funds will ensure that momentum is maintained and key enabling actions implemented in rhinitis, Evolutec's lead development programme. They will also enable the acceleration of rEV576.' Enquiries: Evolutec Group plc 0118 922 4480 Mark Carnegie Brown, Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Badman, Chief Financial Officer www.evolutec.co.uk Bridgewell Limited 020 7003 3000 Shaun Dobson Xavier de Mol Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 David Yates Ben Brewerton Notes for Editors: About Evolutec Evolutec, which is based in Reading, UK, is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on allergy, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The Company has completed a positive 112 patient proof of concept Phase IIa clinical trial with rEV131, its lead product development candidate, in allergic rhinitis. rEV131 met the primary endpoint of reducing the sum of symptom scores at statistically significant levels within 45 minutes of administration. In addition to the Phase IIb trial in rhinitis and the proof of concept Phase II trial in post-cataract, Evolutec also intends to complete a proof of concept Phase II trial in dry eye in 2007. Following positive preclinical data, Evolutec intends to undertake a Phase I trial with rEV131 in asthma in 2007. The Company's second preclinical development candidate, rEV576, is a complement inhibitor. rEV576 has demonstrated preclinical activity against the autoimmune diseases myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, asthma and acute myocardial infarction ('AMI') (heart attack). Evolutec has established a research collaboration with Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, to undertake further preclinical work with rEV576 in myasthenia gravis. The rights to Evolutec's vaccine technology for animals are partnered with Merial. Merial is currently undertaking work in tick-borne diseases. Evolutec is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and develops therapeutics originally isolated from the saliva of ticks. The tick remains undetected by its hosts, including humans, by injecting an array of molecules into the skin that suppresses host immunity. These stealth molecules have undergone millions of years of natural evolution to select a promising efficacy, potency and safety profile. Evolutec employs the tick's evolutionary stealth technology to offer the potential of treating human diseases. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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