Business
Agreements with Imperial College & Oxford Uni
Agreements with Imperial College & Oxford Uni.
About this update from Valirx Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 8790E ValiRx PLC 14 April 2011 \n\n\n\n\n\n14 April 2011\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nValiRx Plc\n(\"ValiRx\" or the \"Company\")\n \n Agreements with Imperial College and Oxford University \n \nValiRx, a life science company with a focus on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics for personalised medicine, announces that it has signed agreements with Imperial College and Oxford University to accelerate the development of its lead therapeutics VAL101 and VAL 201.\n \nImperial College will carry out the late preclinical development of VAL101 with funding from the Eurostars scheme. The aim is to provide validation for the GeneICE clinical applications and validation for the use of GeneICE technology as a silencing tool, in which \"rebellious genes\", which cause problems such as cancer and some neurological problems, are shut down or \"put on ice\". ValiRx hopes that this will enable VAL101 to compete in the rapidly growing market space for epigenomics therapeutics and personalised medicine. Among other opportunities, it is hoped that the data package will address a specific data \"wish list\" provided to ValiRx by a leading global provider to the life science community, and that it will provide discovery and development tools and biomarkers for biopharmaceutical companies in their development of potential companion diagnostic products.\n \nThe collaboration with Oxford University will look at late preclinical development of VAL201 to combat hormone refractory prostate cancer and also further indications of hormone induced unregulated growth. These conditions have a significant unmet clinical need and, if the collaboration is successful, VAL201 will have a large impact on the personalised therapeutic approach to oncology and unregulated growth.\n \nImperial College and Oxford University are amongst the world's most prestigious institutions to be carrying out drug development of this type. Further work will be carried out to support the regulatory requirements prior to entering clinical trials. \n \nAll intellectual and commercial property rights from the work undertaken by both Oxford University and Imperial College will continue to be owned by ValiRx.\n \nDr Satu Vainikka, CEO of ValiRx plc, commented:\n\"I am delighted that we have reached agreement wi...