New European Patent Grant

RNS Number : 6489W

ValiRx PLC

02 February 2012

 

2 February 2012

ValiRx Plc

("ValiRx" or the "Company")

New European Patent Grant for ValiFinn's

Recently Acquired Cancer Screening Test Biomarker

ValiRx Plc (AIM: VAL), a life science company with a focus on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics for personalised medicine, is pleased to announce that a cancer screening test biomarker called NAV3, one of the five patent family assets its subsidiary, ValiFinn Oy acquired from Pharmatest Services Oy ("Pharmatest") of Oulu, Finland (announced 05/01/12), has recently received patent approval by the European patent office (EPO).

The granting of this latest patent means that ValiRx now has a biomarker patent protection within Europe, alongside patents for its GeneICE technology across the world encompassing European territories the US, Canada and Australia.

NAV3 cancer biomarker

The NAV3 cancer screening test biomarker is part of an already well-developed cancer-screening test and ValiRx is now in a position to begin production of it, alongside marketing.  As such, NAV3 is ready for use as a companion diagnostic in cancer therapeutic clinical trials.

This test enables the detection of cancer cells at the stage where chromosomal changes have just taken places and tumor development is just about to start.  In cancer diagnostics, the detection of malignant cells as early as possible remains one of the most challenging diagnostic tasks.

ValiRx owns the patents and retains all commercial rights to each of the five patent family assets and is currently in negotiation with potential production and clinical partners.  Sample kits have already been produced and trialed and several scientific publications have endorsed the technology.  The ValiFinn biomarkers business unit enjoys a revenue stream, which is derived from the provision of contract research services to pharmaceutical companies who are utilising its library of biomarkers.

The use of Biomarkers in oncology therapeutics is one of the fastest growing areas in cancer diagnosis and monitoring and it is the growth of personalised medicine alongside support from regulatory agencies, that are the key factors behind the increasing demand for biomarkers, particularly in cancer research.

Personalised medicines are gaining popularity due to their ability to provide customised treatment to patients based on their genetic as well as medical profile. Since biomarkers help in predicting patient response to a compound, personalised medicines are increasingly using biomarkers to identify the patient population set that is more likely to respond to a particular drug therapy. Personalised medicines are also increasingly being used in targeted cancer therapies and as personalised medicines gain more importance and popularity, the demand for suitable biomarkers is also expected to increase.

Dr Satu Vainikka, CEO, commented: "The granting of this latest patent by the EPO further underpins our global geographic patent coverage and I believe, strongly vindicates our establishment of ValiFinn and our recent acquisition from Pharmatest of our Finnish biomarkers business, in this rapidly growing marketplace.

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

ValiRx plc	Tel: [phone]
Dr Satu Vainikka	www.ValiRx.com
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP - (Nominated Adviser)	Tel:[phone]
Liam Murray / Avi Robinson
Hybridan LLP (Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Claire Noyce / Tim Goodman / Deepak Reddy
Peckwater PR	Tel: [phone]
Tarquin Edwards	[e-mail]

Notes for Editors

Background on Biomarkers (Sources: BCC Research and researchandmarkets 2010/2011)

Biomarkers in Cancer Research 2010 stated that the use of Biomarkers in Oncology Therapeutics is one of the biggest application areas with main emphasis on predictive and personalized medicine.

The global cancer biomarkers market for 2007 was estimated to be $3.6 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 6.3% to reach $6.3 billion by 2016.

This growth is primarily attributed to the rise in the number of biomarker tests in a wide variety of Cancer types.

In the future, the growth of personalized medicines and the strong support from regulatory agencies such as the FDA will be the two major factors that will drive the demand for biomarkers, particularly in cancer research.

Personalized medicines are gaining popularity due to their ability to provide customized treatment to patients based on their genetic as well as medical profile. Since biomarkers help in predicting patient response to a compound, personalized medicine are increasingly using biomarkers to identify the patient population set that is more likely to respond to a particular drug therapy. Personalized medicines are also increasingly being used in targeted cancer therapies. Thus, going forward, as personalized medicines gain more importance and popularity, the demand for biomarkers is also expected to increase.

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

 

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