Gyroscope Therapeutics update on proposed IPO

                                                                   Syncona Limited

7 May 2021

Gyroscope Therapeutics update on proposed IPO

Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding a portfolio of global leaders in life science, notes the announcement that its portfolio company, Gyroscope Therapeutics Holdings plc has postponed plans for its initial public offering in light of the current market conditions.

The announcement can be accessed on Gyroscope's website at: https://www.gyroscopetx.com/press-releases/  and full text of the announcement from Gyroscope is contained below.

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This announcement includes information that is inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Syncona Ltd is Andrew Cossar, General Counsel, SIML.

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About Syncona

Syncona's purpose is to invest to extend and enhance human life. We do this by founding, building and funding a portfolio of global leaders in life science, to deliver transformational treatments to patients in areas of high unmet need.

Our strategy is to found, build and fund companies around exceptional science to create a dynamic portfolio of 15-20 globally leading healthcare businesses for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We focus on developing treatments for patients by working in close partnership with world-class academic founders and management teams. Our strategic balance sheet underpins our strategy enabling us to take a long-term view as we look to improve the lives of patients with no or few treatment options, build sustainable life science companies and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to shareholders.

Gyroscope Therapeutics Postpones Initial Public Offering

LONDON - 7 May 2021 - Gyroscope Therapeutics Holdings plc ("Gyroscope"), a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on treating diseases of the eye, today announced it has postponed plans for its initial public offering.

"In light of market conditions, we have decided to postpone our planned initial public offering," said Khurem Farooq, Chief Executive Officer.  "Based on the positive feedback we have received from institutional investors on the strength of our science and investigational gene therapies, we believe it's in the best interest of our existing shareholders and employees to execute our IPO in more favorable market conditions. In the meantime, we are continuing to advance our clinical program for our investigational gene therapy, GT005, and our earlier stage pipeline."

About Gyroscope: Vision for Life

Gyroscope Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing gene therapy beyond rare disease to treat diseases of the eye that cause vision loss and blindness. Our lead investigational gene therapy, GT005, is currently being evaluated in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness. GT005 has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of people with GA.

Supported by leading life sciences investors, Gyroscope has built a global organisation combining discovery, research, drug development, a manufacturing platform and surgical delivery capabilities. Headquartered in London with locations in Philadelphia and San Francisco, our mission is to preserve sight and fight the devastating impact of blindness.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.

In any member state of the European Economic Area (the "EEA") this announcement and any offering are only addressed to and directed at persons who are "qualified investors" ("Qualified Investors") within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation. In the United Kingdom, this announcement and any offering are only addressed to and directed at Qualified Investors (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), (ii) high net worth entities who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons being referred to as "relevant persons").

This announcement must not be acted on or relied on (i) in the United Kingdom, by persons who are not relevant persons, and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, by persons who are not Qualified Investors. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to and will only be engaged with (i) in the United Kingdom, relevant persons, and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, Qualified Investors.

The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus related to the offering can be obtained from any of the joint book-running managers for the offering: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014, by telephone at (866) 718-1649 or by email at [email protected]; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, by telephone at (866) 471-2526, by facsimile at (212) 902-9316 or by email at [email protected]; or Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Attention: Prospectus Department, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (800) 831-9146 or by email at [email protected]. For the avoidance of doubt, such prospectus does not constitute a "prospectus" for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation") and will not have been reviewed by any competent authority in any European Union member state or the United Kingdom.

Contact:

Charlotte Arnold

VP, Corporate Affairs

[email protected]

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