VALIRX PLC
("ValiRx" or the
"Company")
Initiation of Evaluation
project Agreement with Imperial College London
ValiRx plc (the "Company") (AIM: VAL), a life
sciences company focusing on early-stage cancer therapeutics and
women's health, is pleased to announce signature of an evaluation
agreement with Imperial College London (the "Agreement"). This
agreement enables ValiRx to evaluate research relating to novel
therapeutic candidates for cancer treatment.
The Agreement specifically focuses on
investigating a lead series of dual-kinase inhibitor candidates
that show promise in reversing resistance to current standard of
care therapeutics in ovarian and other types of cancer.
Importantly, a similar approach has already been validated in
clinical studies with other assets across a range of tumour types
and it holds significant potential as a novel combination
treatment.
This project builds upon previous
ground-breaking research led by Dr Paula Cunnea, Group Leader at
the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre, Division of
Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London and the
previous Imperial College Drug Discovery Centre.
The evaluation process for this project is
expected to take approximately 12 months, with the lead series
scrutinised for mechanism of action and anti-cancer activity in
combination with standard of care treatments in the Inaphaea
BioLabs facility and will draw upon the skills of external
collaborators. Upon the conclusion of the evaluation, if
milestones are met, the project will be considered for in-licensing
on pre-agreed terms. This signifies an exciting opportunity for
ValiRx to further expand its portfolio of innovative cancer
therapeutics.
Dr Suzy Dilly,
CEO of ValiRx commented: "I'm delighted to
announce the start of our second new evaluation project for 2024
with the signature of this agreement with Imperial College
London. The scientific developments in this project display a
high degree of quality and innovation with potential application in
an exciting area of research."
Dr Cathy
Tralau-Stewart, CSO of ValiRx explains: "I am
excited to initiate the Agreement with Imperial College London, in
an area which I have been involved in for some time and which I
believe has the potential to translate to the clinic efficiently.
This evaluation agreement is a further step-forward in developing
ValiRx's drug discovery pipeline. This is the third evaluation
agreement signed in the last four months building a risk-balanced
evaluation portfolio which includes early novel approaches for
cancer and later stage pre-clinical approaches which have some
clinical validation."
Dr Paula
Cunnea, Advanced Research Fellow, Department of Surgery and Cancer,
Imperial College London: "We are entering an
exciting new phase in partnership with ValiRx to further develop
our dual kinase inhibitor drug programme and unlock the real
potential of these novel candidates to combat resistance and
enhance therapeutic options for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Together, we will seek to deliver a clinical candidate that we hope
will alleviate the suffering of women and their families from this
devastating disease."
The information contained within this
announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU)
No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR"). The Directors of
the Company take responsibility for this announcement.
For more information, please
contact:
ValiRx plc
Dr Suzanne Dilly, CEO
|
Tel: +44 (0) 2476 796496
www.valirx.com
Suzanne.Dilly@valirx.com
|
V
Formation (Public Relations)
Lucy Wharton - Senior PR
Executive
Sue Carr - Director
|
+44
(0) 115 787 0206
www.vformation.biz
lucy@vformation.biz
sue@vformation.biz
|
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated
Adviser)
Liam Murray/Jo Turner/Ludovico
Lazzaretti
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880
|
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Sole Broker)
Damon Heath
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9000
|
Notes for
Editors
About
ValiRx
ValiRx is a life science company focused on
early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health, accelerating
the translation of innovative science into impactful medicines to
improve patient lives.
ValiRx provides the scientific, financial, and
commercial framework for enabling rapid translation of innovative
science into clinical development.
Using its extensive and proven experience in
research and drug development, the team at ValiRx selects and
incubates promising novel drug candidates and guides them through
an optimised process of development, from pre-clinical studies to
clinic and investor-ready assets.
ValiRx connects diverse disciplines across
scientific, technical, and commercial domains, with the aim of
achieving a more streamlined, less costly, drug development
process. The team works closely with carefully selected
collaborators and leverages the combined expertise required for
science to advance.
Lead candidates from ValiRx's portfolio are
outlicensed or partnered with investors through ValiRx subsidiary
companies for further clinical development and
commercialisation.
ValiRx listed on the AIM Market of the London
Stock Exchange in October 2006 and trades under the ticker symbol:
VAL.
For further information,
visit: www.valirx.com
About Imperial
College London
Imperial College London is a global top ten
university with a world-class reputation. Imperial's 22,000
students and 8,000 staff are working to solve the biggest
challenges in science, medicine, engineering and
business.
Imperial ranks sixth in the
2024 QS World
University Rankings and eighth in
the
2024 Times Higher Education World University
Rankings. The
2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF)
found that it has a greater proportion of world-leading research
than any other UK university. It also received a Gold Award in
the
2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
Imperial was named University of the Year in the
Daily Mail University
Guide 2024, University of the Year for
Graduate Employment in
The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide
2024, and awarded a
Queen's Anniversary Prize for its COVID-19
response.
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/
Cautionary
statement
Certain statements made in this announcement
are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on
current expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results
to differ materially from any expected future events or results
expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Persons
receiving this announcement should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable
law, regulation or accounting standard, the Company does not
undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.