5 December 2013
ValiRx Plc
("ValiRx" or the "Company")
New Australian Patent Grant for ValiRx's
Cancer Screening Gene 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 the Company's method for cancer screening, using the NAV3 gene biomarker in the field of genetics and oncology, has recently received patent approval by the Australian patent office.
The granting of this latest patent to the Company means that ValiRx now has biomarker patent protection in Australia, the US and across Europe, alongside granted and pending patents for its therapeutic technologies across Europe, the US, Canada and Australia.
This patent covers the process by which genetic biomarkers can be used to detect or identify a patient's susceptibility to several cancers, to improve treatment methods and to monitor patients.
The use of biomarkers with oncology therapeutics is one of the fastest growing areas of cancer research, as not only can they identify patients who are more likely to respond to a particular drug therapy, but they also indicate tumour regression.
The Group's biomarker programme is being developed and led by ValiFinn, the Group's laboratory and biomarker unit based in Finland.
Dr Satu Vainikka, CEO, commented: "This patent approval for our NAV3 gene biomarker activity follows our recent update on the integral biomarker work associated with our leading therapeutic, VAL201's First in Man trial (28/11/13)".
I am very pleased by the continuing validation of our technologies and of our approach to therapeutics and biomarkers themselves and I believe this patent grant further underlines the importance of a genetic approach to the management and detection of oncological diseases."
- ENDS -
For more information, please contact:
ValiRx plc |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3008 4416 |
Dr Satu Vainikka |
www.ValiRx.com |
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated Adviser) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900 |
Liam Murray / Avi Robinson |
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Daniel Stewart & Company Plc (Broker) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7776 6550 |
David Hart / Mark Treharne |
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Peckwater PR |
Tel: +44 (0) 7879 458 364 |
Tarquin Edwards |
[email protected] |
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:
1. ValiFinn is the biomarkers and diagnostic development division
2. ValiPharma is the therapeutics division with two embedded technologies primarily directed at
the treatment of cancers.
