Conclusion of Evaluation with University of Dundee
ValiRx PLC has concluded its evaluation agreement with the University of Dundee, having contributed £9,000 and in-kind support for mechanism of action studies, which were also supported by a £50,000 grant from Queen Mary University London. Despite progress, the technology did not meet ValiRx's strict licensing criteria, leading to the termination of the collaboration and the reversion of intellectual property rights to the University. The company stated that this decision aligns with its robust asset selection process designed to ensure shareholder value generation within a rapid timeframe.
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London, UK - ValiRx Plc (AIM: VAL), a life science company focusing on early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health provides the following update at the conclusion of the Evaluation Agreement with the University of Dundee and their Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) announced on 12 February 2024 and extended as announced on 30 January 2025.
Under the terms of the Extended Evaluation Agreement, ValiRx supported continued mechanism of action studies, provided by the research group of Professor Cleo Bishop (Professor of Senescence and Director of the Queen Mary University London Phenotypic Screening Facility), funded by a £50,000 grant from the Queen Mary University London Impact Fund. ValiRx contributed £9,000 and in-silico modelling with in-kind support from Inaphaea Biolabs Ltd.
Despite progress on the target deconvolution at the conclusion of the evaluation period, the technology had not met the strict criteria for the Company to exercise its option to license the technology on pre-agreed terms. The parties have agreed to terminate the current collaboration agreement and revert responsibility for maintaining the intellectual property to DDU and Queen Mary University.
Mark Eccleston, CEO of ValiRx commented "As noted when we announced the extension of the evaluation, a key decision point for in-licensing the asset was determination of the precise mechanism of action and, while progress has been made in Professor Bishop's laboratory, funded largely through non-dilutive funding, this criterion was not met. We're pleased that work carried out under the grant we supported has undoubtedly added value to the programme but, as we've discussed, the strict and robust criteria for asset selection and progression are designed to ensure we only progress assets we believe we can generate shareholder value from within a readably rapid timescale.
The Directors of the Company take responsibility for this announcement.
| Investor questions on this announcement We encourage all investors to share questions on this announcement via our investor hub | https://valirx.com/link/yEv6pe |
| ValiRx plc Dr Mark Eccleston, CEO | Tel: +44 115 784 0026 www.valirx.com Mark.Eccleston@valirx.com |
| Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated Adviser) Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880 |
| Shard Capital Partners LLP (Sole Broker) Damon Heath | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9000 |
| V Formation (Public Relations) Jocelyn Braithwaite | +44 (0) 115 646 5491 www.vformation.co.uk/ jocelyn@vformation.co.uk |
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