Shield Therapeutics plc

("Shield" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Patient Access Expands for Accrufer®

Agreements reached with multiple payers giving access to US commercially insured patients

London, UK, 16 December 2021:  Shield Therapeutics plc (LSE: STX), a commercial stage pharmaceutical company with a focus on addressing iron deficiency with its lead product Accrufer®/Feraccru® (ferric maltol), announces a progress update on payer coverage of Accrufer® in the US.

Following the US launch of Accrufer® in July 2021, one of the Company's key focus points was to establish payer coverage. Shield has made substantial progress, successfully securing payer coverage with several large pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), including Express Scripts and Optum, providing the Company with access to approximately 40 million commercial patients. These contracts result in Accrufer® being placed on formulary¹ and are effective immediately.

Shield will provide a further, more detailed business update to shareholders in the first quarter of 2022.

Greg Madison, CEO of Shield, said: "We have made significant progress over the past few months in the US, by securing reimbursement for Accrufer® among several large pharmacy benefit managers. Gaining coverage of Accrufer® among payers is a critical step for adoption, and we expect to further expand that coverage in 2022. Our clinical message has been well received during the initial stages of our launch, and we continue to expand awareness of Accrufer® among health care professionals."

¹ - Formulary: Is a continually updated list of prescription drugs approved for reimbursement by the PBMs payer client.

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About Shield

Shield is a commercial stage, pharmaceutical company with a focus on addressing iron deficiency with its lead product Accrufer® / Feraccru® (ferric maltol), a novel, stable, non-salt based oral therapy for adults with iron deficiency with or without anaemia.

Shield's lead product, Accrufer® / Feraccru®, has been approved for use in the United States, European Union, UK, Switzerland and Australia and has exclusive IP rights until the mid-2030s. The Group has recently launched Accrufer® in the US and Feraccru® is already being commercialised in the UK and European Union by Norgine B.V., who also have the marketing rights in Australia and New Zealand. Shield also has an exclusive licence agreement with Beijing Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for the development and commercialisation of Accrufer® / Feraccru ® in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. 

For more information, please visit www.shieldtherapeutics.com. Follow Shield on Twitter @ShieldTx