Re: Update

RNS Number : 7434R

ValiRx PLC

22 November 2012

 

For release at 0700 on 22 November 2012

VALIRX PLC

("ValiRx" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Re Update

ValiRx Plc (AIM: VAL), a life science company in clinical development with anti-cancer diagnostics and therapeutics for personalised medicine, announces an update following its successful placing to raise £2.03 million (announced 19/11/12).   The fund raising now provides the Company with the required resources to take the Group's leading anti-cancer therapeutic VAL201, through first in-human clinical trials.

VAL201

As previously announced, VAL 201 has shown efficacy in prostate, breast and ovarian cancer models as well as addressing endometriosis.  The compound has also been shown to reduce the metastasis of prostate cancer, one of the major problems associated with the disease, which sees the spread of that cancer into other organs as secondary tumours.

To this end, the Company has commissioned the manufacture (to clinical grade) of a sufficient amount of the lead compound VAL201, to enable first in-human clinical testing to be undertaken, which is the next step in its clinical development.

The Company is retaining the services of various necessary technical personnel and other specialists required to conduct the First In-Human Trial.  Additionally, ValiRx is currently concluding specific contractual arrangements with its preferred clinical trial centre. This follows on from recent meetings with the regulatory authorities at which ValiRx's pre-clinical research and developmental results were presented and scrutinised.  The authorities provided positive feedback to the Company and shared their thoughts over the scope and direction of the initial trial.

In parallel with the manufacture of sufficient compound, the Company is completing its trial documentation in collaboration with its various clinical stage suppliers, contactors and collaborators. 

Predictions for the prostate cancer market say that it is set to expand to $5 billion by 2015 due to the growing prostate cancer population (that is a 25% growth from 2010 to 2020).

Other Activity

Val101 / GeneICE

Val101, the first GeneICE-derived compound, using ValiRx'srevolutionary gene silencing technology, which has been developed for silencing or "freezing" rebellious genes which cause conditions such as cancer and any other epigenetic problems, has continued its progression through the late pre-clinical proof of concept studies with Imperial College, University of London and the Group is pleased to report that regulatory development activities are beginning.

Biomarker development

ValiRx's biomarker developments are going ahead as planned, so increasing the scope of the Company's R&D capability, as its specialist biomarker expertise is advanced in-house to develop companion biomarker diagnostics to complement ValiRx's therapeutics. The Finnish biomarkers unit has grown steadily and its facilities and expertise will be used in support of the clinical trial for VAL201.

American Association for Cancer Research (http://www.aacr.org)

The Company is preparing two papers for the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington in April 2013 and it has received the appropriate sponsors.

Dr Satu Vainikka, CEO, commented:"I am very pleased with the outcome of the placing and to see VAL201, the first of several ValiRx compounds, now funded through its First In-Human clinical development, as the Company seeks to drive greater shareholder value by conducting Phase I trials directly, rather than out-licensing the compound at this stage."

- 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 / Deepak Reddy
Peckwater PR	Tel: [phone]
Tarquin Edwards	[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:

      ValiFinn is the biomarkers and diagnostic development division

      ValiPharma is the therapeutics division with two embedded technologies primarily directed at the treatment of cancers.

 

END

 

 

MSCBBBPTMBTTBJT