CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, July 2, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE:CEN) today announced that the board has resolved to apply for the Company's shares to be admitted to AIM (Alternative Investment Market of The London Stock Exchange). CeNeS will cancel its listing on the Official List.
The Directors believe that given the Company's current market capitalization AIM is a more appropriate market. The Directors and its advisors believe that there is a greater likelihood of the Company attracting longer-term investor support in the AIM markets and the move will allow transactions to be completed more cost effectively
Admission to AIM is expected to be completed by the end of July at which time the listing of the Company's shares on the Official List will be cancelled.
Neil Clark, Chief Operating Officer of CeNeS said "The CeNeS Board believe that an AIM listing will give the Company increased access to interested investors and that AIM is an appropriate environment for the Directors to effect the next stage of CeNeS corporate development".
This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Company's research strategy, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies and the uncertainties related to the regulatory process.
About CeNeS
CeNeS is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development and commercialisation of drugs for pain control. The company has development assets targeting pain and has a portfolio of carried interests in assets that it has divested. The company is based in Cambridge, England. For further information visit www.cenes.co.uk.
About AIM
AIM is the London Stock Exchange's global market for smaller, growing companies. Good companies from different sectors and different countries are welcome on AIM. Since AIM opened in 1995, more than 850 companies have been admitted. Collectively, these companies have raised more than 10 billion US dollars whilst on AIM. There are no specific suitability criteria for companies to qualify for AIM. However, under the AIM rules, all companies must produce an admission document making certain disclosures about such matters as their directors' backgrounds, their promoters, business activities and financial positions.
Importantly, all AIM companies are required to have a nominated adviser (popularly known as a "nomad") from the register of such advisers published by the Exchange. This nominated adviser is responsible, amongst other duties, for warranting to the Exchange that a particular company is appropriate for AIM. This is an important quality control for AIM and a very serious responsibility upon the nominated adviser.
Once admitted to AIM, a company has certain ongoing disclosure requirements and needs to retain a nominated adviser at all times. Ordinarily, once a company has been on AIM for 2 years it will have the opportunity to seek admittance to the main market by using a special expedited procedure.
AIM is operated, regulated and promoted by the London Stock Exchange.