Retroscreen Raises £33m to Accelerate its Biomarker Discovery Programme in Flu and Asthma

Retroscreen Virology Group plc (AIM: RVG), the pioneer of hVIVO Human Challenge Models (“HCMs”) of disease, announces today that it has raised, subject to certain conditions, £33.6 million (before expenses) by way of a placing of 12,923,077 new Ordinary Shares (the “New Ordinary Shares”) with both new and existing institutional shareholders at a price of 260 pence per Ordinary Share.
The Placing Price is at a discount of 18.8 per cent. to the closing middle market price of 320 pence per Ordinary Share on 13 August 2014, the latest date prior to this Announcement.

The New Ordinary Shares will, upon Admission, rank pari passu in all respects with the Ordinary Shares in issue as at the date of this Announcement, including as regards the right to receive all dividends or other distributions declared, made or paid after Admission. The New Ordinary Shares will represent 19.1 per cent. of the Company’s enlarged issued ordinary share capital immediately following completion of the Placing.

The net proceeds of the Placing are expected to be approximately £32.8 million and will be principally used by the Company to accelerate its biomarker discovery programme in flu and asthma, refine the asthma model for product validation use, initiate COPD model development as the second airways disease opportunity and broaden the Company’s challenge agent repertoire.

The Company also announces that, in line with its expanded vision for the business, it will be changing its name to hVIVO plc which is currently the Company’s proprietary name for its technology platform. The name change is expected to be implemented in Q4 2014.

A general meeting of Retroscreen to approve the Placing will be held at the Group’s registered office at Queen Mary Bio Enterprises, Innovation Centre, 42 New Road, London E1 2AX at 10.00 a.m. on 1 September 2014.