Silence Therapeutics raises 38 million pounds for its RNA drive

LONDON (Reuters) - British biotech group Silence Therapeutics has raised 38.9 million pounds ($58.2 million) by selling two tranches of new shares at 240 pence each to develop its genetic medicine platform. The company, whose technology works by interfering with RNA molecules, said its brokers had sold an additional block of shares to institutions, meeting demand after an initial sale announced on April 2 raised 27.3 million pounds. Chief executive Ali Mortazavi said the capital raise was an endorsement of the group's RNA technology, putting it in a unique position to capitalise on the tidal wave of genetic medicine. Shares in Silence, which reported positive results from Phase II trial of a drug candidate in pancreatic cancer last month, were trading at 260 pence at 1358 GMT, down 1.5 percent. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)