ValiRx plc

("ValiRx" or the "Company")

Inaphaea Evaluation and Commercial Use Agreement

London, UK - ValiRx Plc (AIM: VAL), a life science company focusing on early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health, provides the following update from its wholly owned subsidiary Inaphaea BioLabs Limited ("Inaphaea").

Inaphaea is pleased to confirm the execution of an Evaluation and Commercial Use agreement ("Agreement") with UK based DLOC Biosystems Holdings Limited ("DLOC") to provide Inaphaea's Patient Derived Cells ("PDC") for evaluation and commercial use in DLOC's state-of-the-art organ-on-a-chip technology.  The contract initially focusses on establishment of up to four glioblastoma and one Triple Negative Breast Cancer in-vitro 3D tumour model which will then be offered for commercial services by DLOC and Inaphaea. Additional PDCs across Inaphaea's range of 66 cancer types can be added at any time.

Inaphaea will be entitled to an upfront fee and a percentage of service royalties on commercialisation of the models. DLOC have an option to buy the commercialise rights in relating to the PDCs and support future drug development.  Both companies have also agreed to co-market their respective services. The Agreement is for a period of 12 months initially and may be extended in writing by mutual agreement.

Andrew Carnegie, Head of Strategic Commercial Development at Inaphaea, commented "Companies with exciting technology platforms like DLOC represent the future of rapid drug development and we are excited to support the development of more realistic tumour models to extend the applications of the PDCs from our biobank. There is a great synergy between DLOC's non animal based testing and Inaphaea's vision for accelerating drug candidates along the development pipeline."

Mark Eccleston, CEO of ValiRx commented "This second deal to exploit Inaphaea's Patient Derived Cell bank demonstrates the interest in our biobank and we look forward to developing the next generation of in-vitro  drug evaluation systems with DLOC."

Wadah Malaeab, CEO of DLOC, commented "DLOC is developing state-of-the-art organ-on-a-chip technology to deliver accurate assay testing services to pharmaceutical companies and advance drug discovery. This partnership with Inaphaea is a perfect synergy. By combining 3D tumour models, utilising Inaphaea's library of PDCs, with our biochips to provide an environment where cells can grow and reorganise into tissues, provides the perfect setting for large scale, affordable drug testing. Our technology will help to enable the reduction and replacement of animal testing, by providing more accurate data on safety and efficacy than current pre-clinical testing models."

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR"). The Directors of the Company take responsibility for this announcement.

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Notes for Editors

About ValiRx

ValiRx is a life science company focused on early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health, accelerating the translation of innovative science into impactful medicines to improve patient lives.

ValiRx provides the scientific, financial, and commercial framework for enabling rapid translation of innovative science into clinical development.

Using its extensive and proven experience in research and drug development, the team at ValiRx selects and incubates promising novel drug candidates and guides them through an optimised process of development, from pre-clinical studies to clinic and investor-ready assets.

ValiRx connects diverse disciplines across scientific, technical, and commercial domains, with the aim of achieving a more streamlined, less costly, drug development process. The team works closely with carefully selected collaborators and leverages the combined expertise required for science to advance.

Lead candidates from ValiRx's portfolio are outlicensed or partnered with investors through ValiRx subsidiary companies for further clinical development and commercialisation. 

ValiRx listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2006 and trades under the ticker symbol: VAL.

For further information, visit: www.valirx.com

Cautionary statement

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any expected future events or results expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Persons receiving this announcement should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or accounting standard, the Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.