VAL201 A KEY COMPONENT IN EXPERIMENTAL COMBINATION TREATMENT FOR COVID-19
London, UK , 2 June 2020: ValiRx (AIM:VAL) announces that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Oncolytika Limited (“Oncolytika”) and Black Cat Bio Limited (“Black Cat”) to explore the use of VAL201 in a combination treatment for patients suffering a hyperimmune response to Coronavirus SARS-CoV2 infection (the “Project”).
Dr Suzanne Dilly is proposed to be the chairman of the Project steering committee. As announced on 1 May 2020, the Company intends to appoint Dr Suzanne Dilly as a director of the Company subject to the completion of satisfactory background checks which are ongoing at present.
Many patients infected with Coronavirus SARS-CoV2 exhibit more severe symptoms, with significant damage believed to be caused by an excessive response of the immune system, even after the viral infection has reduced. This is known as a hyperimmune response.
Oncolytika, a private UK based technical consultancy, has proposed a combination therapy which includes a selective SRC kinase inhibitor (which inhibits a potential oncogenic pathway), alongside one or two complementary treatments to treat the excessive response of the immune system. Oncolytika and Black Cat have filed a patent to protect the proposed use of the combination therapy.
ValiRx’s contribution to the collaboration is to provide samples of its proprietary SRC kinase inhibitor, VAL201, for preclinical testing, and provide access to safety and tolerability data collected in the recently completed clinical trial in men with prostate cancer. No cash funding is committed to the project by ValiRx under this agreement.
Subject to successful out-licencing, ValiRx will receive 40% of all licensing income generated. The collaboration addresses an emergent and immediate unmet medical need, and details the commencement of a short term experimental plan, with the agreement covering a maximum of two years.
This additional use for VAL201, being explored through the collaboration does not impact ValiRx’s intellectual property rights, or the progress or commercial potential of the oncology or endometriosis applications of using for VAL201 or VAL301.
There is no guarantee that the Project will be successful and that ValiRx will generate any licensing income from the Project.
Dr Suzanne Dilly, Chairman of the Project Steering Committee, commented: “We are excited to be an integral member of this collaboration, which will investigate the potential use of VAL201 in treating the debilitating effects of Covid-19 in some patients. Extending the applications of our programmes through such partnerships is in line with our long-term strategy of managing the costs and risks of developing novel treatments.”
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
