Grant of Options

RNS Number : 3201V

Synairgen plc

05 April 2019

 

Press Release

Synairgen plc

('Synairgen' or the 'Company')

Grant of options

Southampton, UK - 5 April 2019: Synairgen plc (LSE: SNG), the respiratory drug discovery and development company, announces that on 4 April 2019 the Board of Synairgen granted options ('Options') over 2,649,696 ordinary shares of one pence each in the capital of the Company ('Ordinary Shares') at an exercise price of one pence per Ordinary Share.  The Options represent in aggregate 2.42 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital.  

The Options are issued under the Company's existing Long Term Incentive Plan and are exercisable between 4 April 2022 and 3 April 2029, subject to achievement of performance criteria related to the increase in the total shareholder return of the Company.  Following this grant, Synairgen has 8,737,515 options in issue, representing 7.98 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital.

Included in the number of Options granted on 4 April 2019, the following Options were issued to directors:

Director	Options Issued
Richard Marsden	772,167
Dr. Phillip Monk	557,679
John Ward	600,575

Following the issue of the Options, the interests of the directors of the Company at

4 April 2019 are as follows:

Director	Total options issued	Ordinary shares	Total interest	Percentage holding of fully diluted share capital
Richard Marsden	3,043,022	310,682	3,353,704	2.84%
Dr. Phillip Monk	1,594,099	230,314	1,824,413	1.54%
John Ward	2,099,315	339,006	2,438,321	2.06%
Simon Shaw	-	1,474,096	1,474,096	1.25%
Iain Buchanan	212,765	112,741	325,506	0.28%
Dr. Bruce Campbell	-	294,259	294,259	0.25%
Paul Clegg	250,000	204,244	454,244	0.38%
Prof. Stephen Holgate	-	858,360	858,360	0.73%

Jody Brookes and Victoria Tear, also persons disclosing managerial responsibilities, were granted 124,312 and 119,166 Options respectively.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR')

For further information, please contact:

Synairgen plc 

Richard Marsden, Chief Executive Officer

John Ward, Finance Director

Tel: + 44 (0) 23 8051 2800

finnCap

Geoff Nash, Max Bullen-Smith (Corporate Finance)

Alice Lane (ECM)

Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7220 0500

Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor

Relations)

Mary-Jane Elliott / Sue Stuart / Olivia Manser

[e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Notes for Editors

About Synairgen 

Synairgen is a respiratory drug discovery and development company founded by University of Southampton Professors Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko Djukanovic.  The business, focused primarily on asthma and COPD, uses its differentiating human biology BioBank platform and world-renowned international academic KOL network to discover and develop novel therapies for respiratory disease.  Leveraging its scientific and clinical facilities at Southampton General Hospital, the Company uses in vitro and ex vivo models to progress opportunities into clinical development.  The BioBank of human samples is used in these models to increase confidence in the likelihood of successful drug development.

Synairgen is currently conducting a two-part Phase II trial evaluating SNG001, the Company's inhaled interferon beta (IFN-beta) product.  The Phase II trial, called SG015, has been designed to assess the safety of SNG001 in COPD patients and its clinical benefit in these patients when they have a cold or flu infection, a major driver of COPD exacerbations.

Core to Synairgen's business strategy is the realisation of value via licensing transactions.  In August 2015 the Company entered into a collaboration with Pharmaxis to develop an oral LOXL2 inhibitor to reduce fibrosis in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).  In December 2017, the collaboration agreement was amended as Pharmaxis took on full responsibility for the programme, with Synairgen receiving a £5 million upfront payment and a share of at least 17% (net of allowable expenses) of any receipts from any onward licensing by Pharmaxis of the LOXL2 inhibitors in fibrotic indications.

Synairgen is quoted on AIM (LSE: SNG).  For more information about Synairgen, please see www.synairgen.com 

1.	Details of Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ('PDMR') / person closely associated with them ('PCA')
a)	Name	Richard Marsden
2.	Reason for notification
a)	Position / status	Chief Executive Officer
b)	Initial notification / amendment	Initial Notification
3.	Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
a)	Name	Synairgen plc
b)	LEI	213800IMMTOPPDF8HD24
4.	Details of the transaction(s):
a)	Description of the financial instrument Identification code	Options over ordinary shares of 1p each GB00B0381Z20
b)	Nature of the transaction	Award of Options under the Synairgen LTIP
c)	Price(s) and volume(s)	772,167 Options awarded
d)	Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price	n/a
e)	Date of the transaction	4 April 2019
f)	Place of the transaction	Outside a trading venue

1.	Details of Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ('PDMR') / person closely associated with them ('PCA')
a)	Name	Dr Phillip Monk
2.	Reason for notification
a)	Position / status	Chief Scientific Officer
b)	Initial notification / amendment	Initial Notification
3.	Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
a)	Name	Synairgen plc
b)	LEI	213800IMMTOPPDF8HD24
4.	Details of the transaction(s):
a)	Description of the financial instrument Identification code	Options over ordinary shares of 1p each GB00B0381Z20
b)	Nature of the transaction	Award of Options under the Synairgen LTIP
c)	Price(s) and volume(s)	557,679 Options awarded
d)	Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price	n/a
e)	Date of the transaction	4 April 2019
f)	Place of the transaction	Outside a trading venue

1.	Details of Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ('PDMR') / person closely associated with them ('PCA')
a)	Name	John Ward
2.	Reason for notification
a)	Position / status	Finance Director
b)	Initial notification / amendment	Initial Notification
3.	Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
a)	Name	Synairgen plc
b)	LEI	213800IMMTOPPDF8HD24
4.	Details of the transaction(s):
a)	Description of the financial instrument  Identification code	Options over ordinary shares of 1p each GB00B0381Z20
b)	Nature of the transaction	Award of Options under the Synairgen LTIP
c)	Price(s) and volume(s)	600,575 Options awarded
d)	Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price	n/a
e)	Date of the transaction	4 April 2019
f)	Place of the transaction	Outside a trading venue

1.	Details of Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ('PDMR') / person closely associated with them ('PCA')
a)	Name	Jody Brookes
2.	Reason for notification
a)	Position / status	Head of Clinical Operations
b)	Initial notification / amendment	Initial Notification
3.	Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
a)	Name	Synairgen plc
b)	LEI	213800IMMTOPPDF8HD24
4.	Details of the transaction(s):
a)	Description of the financial instrument Identification code	Options over ordinary shares of 1p each GB00B0381Z20
b)	Nature of the transaction	Award of Options under the Synairgen LTIP
c)	Price(s) and volume(s)	124,312 Options awarded
d)	Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price	n/a
e)	Date of the transaction	4 April 2019
f)	Place of the transaction	Outside a trading venue

1.	Details of Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ('PDMR') / person closely associated with them ('PCA')
a)	Name	Victoria Tear
2.	Reason for notification
a)	Position / status	Head of Laboratories
b)	Initial notification / amendment	Initial Notification
3.	Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
a)	Name	Synairgen plc
b)	LEI	213800IMMTOPPDF8HD24
4.	Details of the transaction(s):
a)	Description of the financial instrument Identification code	Options over ordinary shares of 1p each GB00B0381Z20
b)	Nature of the transaction	Award of Options under the Synairgen LTIP
c)	Price(s) and volume(s)	119,166 Options awarded
d)	Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price	n/a
e)	Date of the transaction	4 April 2019
f)	Place of the transaction	Outside a trading venue

 

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