Merrion Pharmaceuticals : Announces Continuing Progress of Oral Insulin Projects Using Merrion Pharmaceuticals' GIPET Technology under license to its partner Novo Nordisk A/S

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02 September 2015

Merrion Pharmaceuticals plc Announces Continuing Progress of
Oral Insulin Projects Using Merrion Pharmaceuticals' GIPET Technology
under license to its partner Novo Nordisk A/S

Dublin, Ireland - 2, September 2015: Merrion Pharmaceuticals plc (ESM:MERR), today announces that its licensee Novo Nordisk has initiated the first Phase 2a proof-of-principle clinical trial with the long-acting insulin analogue OI338GT (NN1953) using Merrion's proprietary absorption enhancer, GIPET. The study was initiated in June 2015, and contingent on the achievement of proof of principle, Novo Nordisk expects to commence larger Phase 2b clinical trials. The Research and Development update was provided in the Novo Nordisk financial report for the first six months of 2015.

Further demonstrating its commitment to innovation in the treatment of patients with diabetes, in June 2015 Novo Nordisk also initiated a first Phase 1 trial with a new oral insulin analogue (OI320GT; NN1957), also using Merrion's GIPET technology. This trial is designed primarily to investigate the safety and tolerability of OI320GT administered via the oral route in approximately 80 healthy volunteers.

Under the terms of the 2008 license agreement, Merrion Pharmaceuticals receives payments on the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones for each analogue, as well as eventual sales milestones and royalties on sales.

Merrion's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. John Fox said: "We welcome the ongoing commitment of Novo Nordisk to advancing the treatment of diabetes, which the WHO predicts will be the 7th leading cause of death by 2030. Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, amputation and kidney failure, and we are very pleased that Merrion's proprietary GIPET technology is playing a part in developing improved ways of treating those in need of insulin supplementation by enabling an oral route of administration."

About Merrion Pharmaceuticals plc

Merrion Pharmaceuticals plc (www.merrionpharma.com) is a publicly listed (ESM:MERR) pharmaceutical company focused on delivering innovation to the market by partnering with complementary companies to develop patented products. Established in 2003, Merrion Pharmaceuticals is primarily engaged in facilitating the development of oral forms (tablets/capsules) of drugs that have suboptimal absorption, many of which can only be given by injection, through the use of Merrion Pharmaceutical's proprietary drug delivery technology platforms.

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