Pharming Enters the Euronext Amsterdam Midkap-index (AMX)

LEIDEN, Netherlands, March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharming Group N.V. ("Pharming" or "the Company") (Euronext Amsterdam: PHARM) announced today that it has been included in the Euronext Amsterdam Midkap index (AMX).

Composition of the AMX is reviewed quarterly by Euronext Amsterdam. Entry eligibility into any of the Amsterdam indexes is evaluated by certain criteria including free float/market capitalisation and free float/velocity. Based on these evaluations, Euronext ranks the companies by size into one of the three indexes; AEX, AMX or AScX of the Amsterdam stock exchange. 

Sijmen de Vries, Chief Executive Officer of Pharming, commented: 

"The promotion to AMX further validates Pharming's strong growth and the success of the Company's commercialisation platform, as well as providing access to a new pool of funds mandated to invest in companies in this index. In addition to record sales growth for RUCONEST® for the treatment of acute hereditary angioedema, Pharming achieved a number of significant milestones in 2019, which have contributed to its strong position. Among these successes, Pharming re-acquired the remaining European commercialisation rights for RUCONEST®, built a new facility to double production capacity and in-licenced leniolisib, a late-stage product to treat a rare immunodeficiency disease, from Novartis.

We have continued our success in 2020, having recently completed a €125 million, 5 year, 3% convertible bond refinancing, that significantly reduced our financing costs, strengthening our financial position and allowing us to invest our clinical trial programmes, expansion of our production capacity and commercialisation and to continue to pursue additional in- licensing opportunities/ acquisitions.

Despite the uncertainty around COVID-19, for now, we do not anticipate any issues with regards to the continuous supply of RUCONEST® and we remain confident in the long-term prospects of the business."

About Pharming Group N.V.

Pharming is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative products for the safe, effective treatment of rare diseases and unmet medical needs. Pharming's lead product, RUCONEST® (conestat alfa) is a recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor approved for the treatment of acute Hereditary Angioedema ("HAE") attacks in patients in Europe, the US, Israel and South Korea. The product is available on a named-patient basis in other territories where it has not yet obtained marketing authorisation.

RUCONEST® is commercialised by Pharming in the US and in Europe, and the Company holds all other commercialisation rights in other countries not specified below. In some of these other countries distribution is made in association with the HAEi Global Access Program (GAP). RUCONEST® is distributed in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Venezuela by Cytobioteck, in South Korea by HyupJin Corporation and in Israel by Kamada.

RUCONEST® is also being evaluated for various additional indications. Pharming's technology platform includes a unique production process that has proven capable of producing industrial quantities of pure high quality recombinant human proteins in a more economical and less immunogenic way compared with current cell-line based methods.

Leads for enzyme replacement therapy ("ERT") for Pompe and Fabry's diseases are also being produced and optimised respectively at present.

 Pharming has recently in-licensed leniolisib from Novartis, a small molecule and selective PI3Kδ inhibitor, which is in a registrational study for activated PI3K-delta syndrome (APDS), a rare form of Primary Immunodeficiency.

Pharming has a long term partnership with the China State Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry ("CSIPI"), a Sinopharm company, for joint global development of new products, starting with recombinant human Factor VIII for the treatment of Haemophilia A. Preclinical development and manufacturing will take place to global standards at CSIPI and its affiliates and are funded by CSIPI. Clinical development will be shared between the partners with each partner taking the costs for their territories under the partnership.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release of Pharming Group N.V. and its subsidiaries ("Pharming", the "Company") may contain forward-looking statements including without limitation those regarding Pharming's financial projections, market expectations, developments, partnerships, plans, strategies and capital expenditures.

The Company cautions that such forward-looking statements may involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive, political and economic factors, legal claims, the Company's ability to protect intellectual property, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates, changes in taxation laws or rates, changes in legislation or accountancy practices and the Company's ability to identify, develop and successfully commercialize new products, markets or technologies.

As a result, the Company's actual performance, position and financial results and statements may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in such forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which should be taken as of their respective dates of issue, unless required by laws or regulations.

For further public information, contact:
Sijmen de Vries, CEO: T: +31-71-524-7400  

FTI Consulting
Victoria Foster Mitchell / Mary Whittow, T: +44-203-727-1000

LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
Leon Melens, Tel: +31-6-53-81-64-27