SILENCE THERAPEUTICS plc

("Silence Therapeutics" or "the Group")

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2007

London, UK, 28 September 2007 - Silence Therapeutics plc (London LSE: SLN)
(previously SR Pharma) today announces its unaudited interim financial results
for the six months ended 30 June 2007.

Operational highlights
* The European Patent Office grants Silence Therapeutics' core chemistry
patent for its novel AtuRNAi molecule providing Silence Therapeutics with
commercial protection for its novel RNAi therapeutics
* Quark Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer begin Phase I trials with the first
Silence Therapeutics' AtuRNAi based molecule in Age-related Macular
Degeneration (AMD)
* Quark is granted an IND for a second AtuRNAi molecule, AKIi-5, for Acute
Kidney Injury
* The Group adopts a new corporate identity and changes its name to Silence
Therapeutics to reflect the Group's core focus and leadership position in the RNAi sector

Post-period highlights

* AstraZeneca collaboration signed to develop novel AtuRNAi molecules against
five specific, mainly respiratory, targets - potential to generate up to
200m (US$ 400m) in access fees and milestone payments plus royalties on
product sales

* Silence Therapeutics appoints Jeff Vick as Group CEO in order to strengthen
its core management team as the Group seeks to expand its business
partnerships

* Silence Therapeutics and Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announce an expansion
of their strategic technology licensing agreement - Quark granted
non-exclusive license options against three specific targets

Financial highlights

* Group revenues increased to 1.2m from its RNAi technology

* Cash position of 6.4m at the period end (31 December 2006: 8.8m). Post 30
June 2007, 7.5m was received from AstraZeneca

Jeff Vick, Silence Therapeutics' Chief Executive Officer, commenting on today's
results announcement said:

"The significant progress that Silence Therapeutics has made over the course of
2007 has positioned us as one of the global leaders in RNAi. Our deal with
Astra Zeneca was clearly a major positive as it validated our technology, gave
us access to the respiratory field via one of the world leaders and has
provided additional funds to support the development of our own pipeline. The
entry of the first AtuRNAi molecule into the clinic, via Quark and Pfizer, was
a further important milestone, as was the granting of our core chemistry patent
in Europe. We are looking forward to the next twelve months with great
confidence and expect to generate further value for shareholders as we continue
to make progress across all areas of our business."

Enquiries:

Silence Therapeutics plc Citigate Dewe
Rogerson

+44(0)20 7307 1620 +44(0)20 7638 9571

Iain Ross, Chairman David Dible

Jeff Vick, Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Alexander

Melvyn Davies, Finance Director

Nominated Adviser

Grant Thornton Corporate Finance

+44 (0) 20 7383 5100

Gerry Beaney

Colin Aaronson


Notes to Editors

Silence Therapeutics plc (
www.silence-therapeutics.com
)

Silence Therapeutics plc (LSE:SLN) is a leading RNAi company. RNA interference
(RNAi) can selectively "silence" genes linked to the onset of disease.

Silence Therapeutics has developed novel, proprietary short interfering RNA
("siRNA") molecules, AtuRNAi, which provide a number of advantages over
conventional siRNA molecules as they show increased stability against nuclease
degradation. In addition, the Company has developed a proprietary systemic
delivery system, AtuPLEX. This enables the delivery of siRNA molecules to
targeted diseased tissues and cells, whilst increasing their bioavailability
and intracellular uptake.

In July 2007, Silence Therapeutics formed a research and development
collaboration with Astra Zeneca to develop AtuRNAi against five specific
targets including those in respiratory indications. The Group's AtuRNAi
technology also has been sublicensed to Pfizer through Quark's license to
Pfizer of the compound RTP-801i-14 for the treatment of Age-related Macular
Degeneration (AMD) and a number of other indications. This compound entered the
clinic in early 2007. Silence Therapeutics also has licensed to Quark rights to
the AtuRNAi structure for Quark's proprietary compound AKIi-5. This compound
has been granted an IND for acute kidney injury and is expected to enter the
clinic in 2007. In addition, Silence Therapeutics expects to begin the clinical
development of its own proprietary AtuRNAi therapeutic molecules for systemic
cancer indications, such as gastrointestinal and non-small lung cancer, in
2008.

Silence Therapeutics is based in London, UK, and Berlin, Germany, and is listed
on AIM.

About RNAi

RNA interference (RNAi), a Nobel Prize winning technology, is one of the most
exciting areas of drug discovery today. This is because it represents a
completely new approach to selectively "silence" or inactivate disease relevant
genes and as such it has the potential to create a new class of therapeutic
products. RNAi could therefore offer a therapeutic approach to a broad range of
diseases (cancer, infectious diseases, inherited diseases), many of which have
been regarded as incurable and are not addressed by current therapeutics,
therefore providing a large market opportunity.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to
risks, uncertainties and other factors. These risks and uncertainties could
cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the
forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on
information currently available to Silence Therapeutics and Silence
Therapeutics assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements.

SILENCE THERAPEUTICS plc

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2007

Chairman's Statement

During the course of 2007, Silence Therapeutics has clearly positioned itself
as one of the global leaders in the rapidly emerging field of RNAi
therapeutics. In the last nine months we have focused our activities on our
RNAi business, signed a major research and development collaboration with Astra
Zeneca, which has given our technology access to the respiratory area, seen our
first product enter the clinic and further advanced our novel delivery
technology. The decision to rename the Group Silence Therapeutics is designed
to further enhance our profile in the RNAi space.

The progress that we have made across all areas of our business, allied to the
growing interest in RNAi as a source of truly novel therapeutics, has resulted
in a rapid rise in our share price as investors begin to appreciate the value
of our technology.

Recently I was delighted, after an extensive worldwide search, to be able to
announce the appointment of Jeff Vick as our Group CEO. He brings with him a
great wealth of experience in science, intellectual property and orchestrating
business deals in the high technology sector with big pharma and biotech
companies. Under Jeff's leadership we are confident that we can take the Group
through its next stage of growth and development.

In July, I am happy to report that we achieved a key milestone with the signing
of an important R&D collaboration with AstraZeneca, which is based on our own
intellectual property. This, along with the expansion of our agreement with
Quark Pharmaceuticals, is further validation of the value of our technology
base and I can confirm we continue to have discussions with other third parties
with a view to announcing further significant partnerships.

There is little doubt that the RNAi sector is set to maintain a very high
profile and we anticipate that Silence Therapeutics along with its competitors
will be able to command increasingly higher deal values as the bigger players
come to realise the true value of RNAi technology. Our recent deal with
AstraZeneca and that of Alnylam with Roche only serve to emphasise the
increasing interest in this sector.

The Board has noted the recent share price volatility, which is not only as a
result of general fluctuations in the financial markets but also because of the
high liquidity in our shares. However we remain confident that, whilst we may
see further fluctuations in the share price, we are well placed to continue to
enhance significantly the overall shareholder value over the next 12 months.

I would like to thank the Board, the management and the staff for their
continued efforts and the shareholders for their continuing support.

Iain G Ross

Chairman

27 September 2007

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REVIEW

2007 has seen increased recognition in the pharmaceutical and investment
communities that RNAi therapeutics are an important and exciting area for
development of a new class of products which can address a broad range of
disease targets, including those which are difficult to treat with conventional
small molecules, antibodies or protein approaches. This recognition
specifically has extended to Silence Therapeutics as a clear global leader in
the field.

I am pleased to report that during the first half of 2007 the Company has made
continued progress across all facets of the business.

R&D Programmes

In February 2007 the first AtuRNAi molecule commenced Phase I clinical trials.
RTP801i entered the clinic under a development program of Quark
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pfizer for the treatment of age-related macular
degeneration. Quark anticipates initiating clinical development of two
additional AtuRNAi products in the second half of 2007, AKIi-5 for treatment of
Acute Kidney Injury and AHLi-11 for treatment of chemotherapy-induced hearing
loss. All of these products were discovered and developed by Quark under our
long-standing option and license agreement, which we expanded in July 2007 to
include three additional targets.

Our internal programs also have advanced. We successfully completed 28 day
pre-clinical toxicology studies on Atu027 and have identified a dose level at
which further pre-clinical studies will be conducted under GLP prior to the IND
submission to enable human studies to commence in 2008 for a systemic cancer
indication, such as gastrointestinal or non-small lung cancer. Atu027 is
designed to silence the function of a novel kinase protein involved in tumour
growth and metastases.

We have continued our pre-clinical studies on prostate and liver cancers. In
particular we have developed formulations for systemic applications to
eradicate metastases, the spread of cancer cells to distant organs.

We have further continued our efforts to design and test new formulations and
drug delivery systems through in-house activities and by starting
collaborations with outside institutions and companies.

Intellectual Property

In January 2007 the European Patent Office granted the Company its core RNAi
patent EP1527176 B1. This patent covers Silence's novel, stabilised, small
interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules which we refer to as "AtuRNAi" and which have
blunt ends and positional modifications. Issuance of this patent cements
commercial protection for the Company and its partners for all products which
we and our partners currently are working on or anticipate developing.

We also have maintained a continued and open dialogue with the US Patent and
Trademark Office (PTO) and have advanced significantly the prosecution of our
core US AtuRNAi application. Working with the PTO we understand well the issues
required to differentiate our technology and seek allowance of our patent
claims. We are confident that a US patent will be allowed which will expand our
proprietary position on AtuRNAi to include the United States.

Third Party Collaborations and Licenses

In July 2007 we signed with AstraZeneca a Research & Development collaboration,
which will be primarily in the respiratory field. The collaboration is
target-specific, with development to be focused on up to five targets provided
by AstraZeneca. Silence Therapeutics will receive milestone payments of up to
200m (~US$400m) as well as royalties on product sales and already has received
(in July) a licence fee payment of 2.5m (~US$5m) plus an equity investment of
5m (~US$10m) in respect of initial access fees. This collaboration is very
important for us. It allies us with a world leader in respiratory medicine and
provides additional validation of the attractiveness of our proprietary AtuRNAi
technology, and the intellectual property surrounding it, for generation of a
new class of therapeutic compounds.

In July 2007 we also expanded our strategic technology licensing agreement with
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to provide Quark with options to non-exclusive
licenses to develop AtuRNAi molecules against 3 specific targets. Quark already
has proved successful in discovering and developing AtuRNAi products and
advancing them into the clinic and we welcome the opportunity for them to
increase the number of AtuRNAi products in active development.

In both of these agreements we have maintained our strategy of signing
target-specific agreements with our partners. This allows us to enter into
multiple collaborations, and develop our own programmes, unencumbered by broad
obligations to existing partners. We continue in discussions with a range of
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and anticipate the announcement of
additional partnerships going forward.

Financial Performance

Since the deal with AstraZeneca was signed in early July, the figures do not
record any of the financial benefits of this deal. The impact of the funds that
we received in July 2007 will be reflected in our figures in second half of the
year.

During the six months ended 30 June 2007, the group generated revenues of
1,269,000 (six months ended 30 June 2006: 780,000), of which 1,225,000 arose
from its RNAi technology. Total costs have risen to 4,808,000 for the half
year compared to 3,028,000 in the same period last year resulting in a loss
after interest income and tax credits of 3,308,000 compared to 2,041,000 for
the same period last year and 3,826,000 for 2006 as a whole.

There are two principal reasons for the increase in reported costs. Firstly the
Group has continued to expand its own in-house development programmes,
resulting in an increase in Research and Development costs from 1,674,000 for
the first half of 2006 to 2,379,000 for the first half of 2007. This compares
to a cost of 3,186,000 for the whole of 2006.

Secondly, the share price increased sharply in the first half of 2007. This
movement does have a direct and marked impact on reported costs and financial
results. The Group is required to make provision in its profit and loss account
for national insurance contributions that would be chargeable as if all the UK
based employees and directors exercised all of the outstanding options at the
current share price. During the first half of 2007 the Group has recorded
options based costs in the profit and loss account of 1,243,000 compared to
207,000 for the same period in 2006 (713,000 for 2006 as a whole) and of this
sum 864,000 related to accrued national insurance costs (six months ended 30
June 2006: nil). Excluding the charges in respect of share options,
administration costs rose from 1,147,000 in the first half of 2006 to
1,186,000 for the first half of 2007.

At the start of the year the group had cash balances of 8,824,000. The group
has used 2,419,000 of these resources in its operations for the first six
months of 2007, net of its revenue raised of 1,269,000. With the inflow of
funds from our deal with AstraZeneca coming in the second half of the year, we
are confident of ending the year with strong cash balances for investment in
further development and advancement of our technology base.

Personal Statement

This is my first report to you as Chief Executive Officer of Silence
Therapeutics plc. I was attracted to join Silence Therapeutics for many
reasons. I am extremely impressed with all of the people involved in the
company, their competence, professionalism and dedication and their
extraordinary achievements to date, by the solid and differentiated science and
technology which form the foundation of the company, the tremendous commercial
prospects we have, and by the increased attention to our sector and company by
both the pharmaceutical and investment communities.

I am both honoured and delighted to join Silence and lead the company through
the next stage of growth. I thank all of you for your support of the company
and I look forward to working with you to enhance the value of our company.

Summary

During 2007, we have clearly positioned Silence Therapeutics as one of the
global leaders in the rapidly emerging RNAi space. We have also worked hard to
create a platform from which we can move the Group forward rapidly. Over the
next twelve months we expect to sign further deals which will allow us to
generate more value from our unique RNAi technology, to have strengthened our
intellectual property position, to see more AtuRNAi molecules enter the clinic
in the hands of our partners and to have progressed our own lead product to a
point where it is about to enter the clinic. Given these developments it is
clear that Silence Therapeutics has the potential to generate further
significant value for its shareholders.

Jeffery S. Vick

Chief Executive Officer

Little snippet from yesterday's (sorry - no time that day!) Times for you:

"Rumour of the Day:
There is talk that Silence Therapeutics, down 1.25p at 82.5p, will be granted a key US patent on its RNA technology for 'silencing' genes before the year end. [I think they mean the patent will be granted before year end, not that the genes will be silenced before then! - ignore this aside] Another licensing deal of its products is said to be close. AstraZeneca has a stake and the rumour is that Pfizer could also bid or stake-build. Collins Stewart has a 250p price target."

Now it has to be said that the Pfizer rumour has been around for a while, and the sp has been zig-zagging about on the back of it. I do feel, though, that now there is so much going on that something will surely come it. I bought back in yesterday (my max amount for any one share) and it's already seeing a profit. However, this is one to hold on to.

Read the RNS above that Hlyeo posted and dyor. SLN are in the 'right place' currently, with their RNAi technology.

I would be very cautious of Collins Stewart price target of 250p which is totally UNREALISTIC in this current market situation. All this is just pure rumour and not confirmed by any RNS.
I think SLN will fall back to 85-90p region.

Price targets are always to be treated with caution, you're right. But if/when SLN are awarded a US patent, which is not impossible, then that will have a very positive impact on the sp. It will also attract attention from larger pharmacos for licensing agreements - leading to further upward movement in sp. There was no time-scale given for the price target in any case.

As always, of course, there could be delays, but their scientific research is looking good.

Falling back again. Now 94p

I had thought they wouldn't fall back quite so soon when I bought back a few days ago, but it wasn't looking good yesterday so I took a short-term profit and will keep my eye on this to get back in again at some stage.

for TOYA ...... gulp! .... just looked at the chart and insert below showing 25+50+200 dma ..... it's truly horrid! ...... if you see a respectable profit with sp just below 25 dma, my advice would be to take your profit and run, or at the very least, top-slice and wait to see if sp can break straight through those congested resistance lines

Oh s_d it! You see the trouble is that I read too much about what the company is involved with, and I can see the opportunities for SLN. I have been watching this one rise-and-fall quite closely though, and have been able to make a short-term profit before. I'll be looking out for this first thing in the morning!

sorry to be the bearer of potential bad tidings yet again ...... if Wall Street recovers from its present loss and actually manages to finish above 13000, the prospect may not be too bad for the morrow .... confess i though there were pronouncements due from Fed today, but see nothing even on CNN site

I shall just have to keep a careful eye on L2 - it usually works for this one; and one of these days it might even get lucky and do a much heralded Deal. But thanks for the warnings anyway!

did you take a profit here this morning? .... i think there was one there for you

Yes thanks Cynic - I thought of you as I sold it! Got out at 90p quite early on. I'm just hanging back for a while to see what happens. It is a share where one can make a modest profit in a day at times.

glad to hear it, though may have enjoyed spanking your bottom instead had you not done so .... lol!

Chance would be a fine thing!

bloody hell! ..... you responded so quickly, it makes one think that perhaps you would like to create that chance!!

Cynic - I'm just winding you up, don't worry! Going out now for dinner.

make sure you behave yourself then .... lol!

There are some things in life that one just cannot guarantee.

tell us all about it in the morning!

This is not the place for it, Cynic. Got to focus and get on!