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ValiRx PLC on Monday said it is making progress on its goal to introduce new academic projects into its portfolio, after launching subsidiary company Cytolytix Ltd and signing a licence agreement with King's College London.
ValiRx is an Essex, England-based life science company focused on early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health. Lead candidates from its portfolio are out-licensed or partnered with investors through ValiRx subsidiary companies for further clinical development and commercialisation.
Cytolytix, the company's new partially-owned subsidiary, was created to progress ValiRx 's triple negative breast cancer project, CLX001, through preclinical development to a stage of readiness for clinical trials.
ValiRx holds 60% of the shares in Cytolytix, while the remaining 40% is split between King's College London, who hold 20%, and the academic inventors of CLX001, Martin Ulmschneider and Charles Chen.
CLX001 is a peptide, designed to destroy cancer cells while avoiding excessive side effects. The mechanism does not require specific cell markers or gene mutations for activity.
Under the IP Licence agreement signed with KCL, ValiRx will provide the funding to Cytolytix for further preclinical development of the technology. The licence also covers milestones and royalty payments between the parties.
Chief Executive Officer Suzy Dilly said: "This project is the first output of the strategy we launched in 2020 to bring new academic projects into our pipeline and is an excellent example of the innovative science being carried out in university departments. Expanding our pipeline with CLX001 is an important step towards diversifying our pipeline and ensuring innovative R&D remains the foundation of our company. "
ValiRx shares were trading 8.8% higher at 15.50 pence each in London on Monday morning.
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