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Exhibit 99.1 Verona Pharma Breath of Innovation ™ Verona Pharma Reports First Quarter 2021 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update ENHANCE Phase 3 program enrollment continues on track to complete in 2H21 Board strengthened with NED appointment of Lisa Deschamps Conference call today at 9:00 a.m. EDT / 2:00 p.m. BST LONDON and RALEIGH , N.C. , April 29 , 2021 Verona Pharma plc ( Nasdaq : VRNA ) ( “ Verona Pharma ” or the “ Company ” ) , a clinical - stage biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory diseases , announces its financial results for the three months ended March 31 , 2021 , and provides a corporate update . " The first quarter of 2021 set a positive tone for what we expect to be another exciting year of substantial progress for Verona Pharma , " said David Zaccardelli , Pharm . D. , President and Chief Executive Officer . " Patient recruitment is ongoing in our Phase 3 ENHANCE ( " Ensifentrine as a Novel inHAled Nebulized COPD thErapy " ) clinical program . Based on our projections , we continue to expect to complete enrollment in both studies in the second half of 2021 and to report top - line data from ENHANCE - 2 in the first half of 2022 and from ENHANCE - 1 in the second half of 2022 . " We have already reported results from two clinical studies this year . In February , we reported positive Phase 2 results with the pressurized metered - dose inhaler ( " pMDI " ) formulation of ensifentrine in moderate to severe COPD patients , and , last week , we reported that data from a pilot study with pMDI ensifentrine showed that ensifentrine added on to standard of care was well tolerated in patients hospitalized with COVID - 19 . The study was not powered to identify statistically significant efficacy outcomes and no benefit with ensifentrine added on to standard of care was observed . In addition to this clinical progress , we strengthened our board with the Non - Executive Director appointment of Lisa Deschamps , Senior Vice President , Chief Business Officer , Novartis Gene Therapies . Lisa's strategic and commercial expertise will be valuable as we progress ensifentrine through Phase 3 trials and prepare for commercialization . ” First Quarter and Recent Highlights Clinical In April 2021 , Verona Pharma reported that results from the pilot study with pMDI ensifentrine showed ensifentrine added on to standard of care was well tolerated in patients hospitalized with COVID - 19 . The study was not powered to identify statistically significant efficacy outcomes and no clinical efficacy benefit with ensifentrine added on to standard of care was observed . The Company does not currently plan to conduct further studies of ensifentrine in the treatment of COVID - 19 . In February 2021 , Verona Pharma announced positive Phase 2 efficacy and safety data with pMDI ensifentrine in patients with moderate to severe COPD . The primary and secondary lung function endpoints were achieved and the data support further evaluation of twice - daily dosing . All three inhaled formulations have demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function in COPD patients , supporting the broad potential of ensifentrine delivered via nebulizers and handheld inhalers .