Issue of Equity

RNS Number : 3156B

ValiRx PLC

16 February 2011

 



16 February 2011

ValiRx Plc

("ValiRx" or "the Company")

Placing to raise £3.3 million

ValiRx Plc (AIM: VAL), the AIM-quoted life science company with a focus on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics for personalised medicine, is pleased to announce that its broker, Hybridan LLP, has conditionally raised £3,297,000 (before fees and expenses) by way of a placing of 549,500,000 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the Company (the "Placing Shares") at a price of 0.6 pence per Placing Share (the "Placing").

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used by the Company to:-

·      Accelerate the pre-clinical progress of its lead therapeutics VAL101 and 201;

·      Support the sales and marketing activities of ValiRx's subsidiary, Valimedix;

·      Develop the Company's companion diagnostics for use in its therapeutic programmes;

·      Support the development and testing of its HPV diagnostic.

Share authorities

Following a general meeting held on 24 January 2011, the Directors obtained authorities to issue up to 280,000,000 new ordinary shares (equivalent to £280,000 at nominal value) pursuant to section 549 of the Companies Act 2006.  Furthermore, at that general meeting shareholders provided the directors with the authority under section 570 of the Companies Act 2006 to disapply the Companies Act's pre-emption requirements in relation to certain share issues, including the issue of shares for cash.

In order to undertake the Placing in full, the Directors require further authorities from shareholders to issue the Placing Shares. Consequently, the Directors intend to convene a further general meeting of the Company to seek shareholder approval to obtain new authorities under Sections 549 and 570 of the Companies Act 2006.  A circular convening a general meeting is expected to be published on or around 18 February 2011, after which time it will be available for download on the Company's website at www.valirx.com.

A letter will be sent to those shareholders who have agreed to receive documents via the Company's website notifying them that the circular is available on the Company's website and enclosing the form of proxy for use at the general meeting.

Timetable

The general meeting is expected to be held on or around 7 March 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the offices of Nabarro LLP at Lacon House, 84 Theobald's Road, London WC1X 8RW.

Subject to the approval of shareholders at the general meeting, it is expected that the Placing Shares will be admitted to trading on AIM on or around 8 March 2011.

A further announcement will be made in due course confirming the posting of the circular and the date of the general meeting.

Dr Satu Vainikka, CEO of ValiRx, commented: "The restructuring of our business has enabled us to focus on adding shareholder value in the near term and this placing strengthens not only our balance sheet but importantly our R&D resources to develop first in class therapeutics in the fast growing field of personalised medicine."

Enquiries:

ValiRx plc
Dr. Satu Vainikka	Tel: [phone]
Hybridan LLP, Broker
Claire Noyce	Tel: [phone]
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, Nominated Adviser
Liam Murray / Avi Robinson	Tel:[phone]
Peckwater PR
Tarquin Edwards	Tel: [phone]
	[e-mail]

Notes for Editors

ValiRx Plc

ValiRx Plc is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel technologies and products in oncology therapeutics and diagnostics. The product focus is in the epigenomic analysis and treatment of cancer, but the technologies can be applied to other fields as well, such as neurology and inflammatory diseases.

The Company listed on AIM in October 2006 and is creating a portfolio of innovative products through investment in specific development projects. It actively manages projects within this portfolio as a trading company and is not an investment vehicle. The ValiRx business model spreads the risks of life science technology developments by minimising financial exposure and running a set of projects to defined commercial endpoints. This maximises returns to shareholders by adding value at the earlier stages where value increases per investment unit are the greatest. 

The Company operates through the following divisional companies:

·      ValiMedix is the sales and distribution division of ValiRx

·      ValiPharma is the therapeutics division with two embedded technologies primarily directed at the treatment of cancers. Of particular note is GeneICE, ValiRx's technology for controlling rebellious genes, which was awarded a Eurostars grant to the value of €1.2 million to fund the development of the GeneICE products through preclinical stages in cancer treatments.  ValiRx is leading a consortium of biotechnology companies that are completing pre-clinical studies based on ValiRx's GeneIce technology platform, prior to entering clinical trials.

ValiMedix Ltd is a UK based company dedicated to building itself into one of Europe's largest Point of Care diagnostics companies. Initially this will be achieved through a programme of acquisitions accompanied by the in-licensing of products and product ranges which may be generic or with associated intellectual property that can be commercialised through existing established distribution channels to end users. Once the company is significantly cash positive it will commission its own new products and generate new intellectual property through a series of collaborative partnerships with organisations known to the management team. The core management team has extensive experience of sales and marketing in professional and pharmacy channels including the Over The Counter ("OTC") diagnostic sectors in the UK and overseas.

Over The Counter (OTC) products, SELFCheck and others

OTC screening products have evolved significantly since the introduction of the first generation of products such as pregnancy tests. Current products include screening for cancers; tropical diseases such as malaria, drugs of abuse, as well as the better known devices aimed at cholesterol assessment and selected acute diseases including several Sexually Transmitted Infections ("STI's") such as HIV.

The majority of the OTC tests sold today rely on either chemical or antibody reactions that produce a detectable colour change to read the result. The core technologies employed are reliable and robust with advancement and growth in the sector dependent on accuracy, reproducibility and time of reaction. Tests that have historically taken a number of hours can now be carried out in minutes.

Point of care (POC) products offer rapid, easy to use methods for quantitative or qualitative assessment of a range of disease conditions.  The benefit of such tests lies in the availability of test results within a matter of minutes and without a requirement to send samples to centralised laboratories, also removing any need for multiple appointments involving a clinic. The availability of such products via pharmacies and supermarkets appeals to wide sections of the community that find it difficult or inconvenient to make clinic appointments during the working week.

The Market for POC testing - Target Markets

The cost and provision of cost effective healthcare has become a major challenge in the UK and EU where an ageing population, an economic downturn and the ever increasing cost of medical treatment have seen a change in the strategic planning of healthcare delivery. 

Acceptance of POC screening tests offers direct savings in terms of early detection of disease and faster clinical and medical interventions where abnormal outcomes occur. Equally important is the speedy 'all-clear' diagnosis for patients who would have exhibited negative test results but who would still have used up valuable laboratory resource.

The development of drop-in clinics and the expansion of pharmacy services (particularly those prescribing pharmacies) will become a fertile market for POC products. In addition ValiMedix is looking to market its products to Hotel/Spa clinics, health clubs (gyms) as well as the occupational health sector, universities and schools.

 

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