ValiRx PLC (AIM: VAL) has received notice that the European Patent Office intends to grant a second patent covering the cancer-killing peptide being developed by its majority-owned subsidiary Cytolytix.
The patent covers polyleucine-based peptides as anti-cancer agents and follows the grant in May of a separate European patent protecting the nanoparticle formulation used to deliver the peptide.
The expanded patent protection strengthens Cytolytix’s intellectual property position as ValiRx pursues licensing, pharmaceutical partnerships and non-dilutive funding.
Cytolytix’s technology works by disrupting cancer cell membranes, directly killing tumour cells while releasing antigens that may stimulate an immune response. Its lead target is triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive cancer with limited targeted treatment options.
ValiRx has also filed a further patent application covering a second-generation lipid-based delivery system, supported by data demonstrating immunogenic cell death in triple-negative breast cancer cells.
Chief Executive Mark Eccleston said the growing range of proprietary formulations could enable different routes of administration across both human and veterinary cancer markets.
