ValiRx Announces Promising In Vivo Results for its Lead Molecule VAL 101

ValiRx plc, the cancer therapeutics and diagnostics company, has announced promising in vivo results for its lead molecule VAL 101 which uses its gene silencing technology GeneICE™ in preclinical xenograph models of pancreatic cancer.

Studies showed that the tumor growth was less than half the size of that seen in the control group.

Based on these results, the Company will now initiate further preclinical studies with the aim of progressing VAL 101 toward Phase I regulatory filing by initiating toxicology studies. The Company has also recently expanded its product portfolio with the development of a second GeneICE™ anti-cancer molecule.

ValiRx’s GeneICE™ technology platform utilizes the cells’ own inherent gene control machinery to effectively silence genes involved in cancer cell progression, in the case of VAL 101, targeting the anti-apoptotic gene BCL-2. These latest in vivo results follow on from studies earlier this year which provided evidence that GeneICE™ could trigger cell death in ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancer cells.

The application of GeneICE™ technology in both studies targeted the BCL-2 gene, which is often over-expressed in certain types of cancer and may lead to the development of chemotherapeutic cell-death resistance.

The Company’s GeneICE™ technology platform recruits gene silencing factors known as Histone Deacetylase Complexes (HDACs) to genes involved in cancer cell progression, inhibiting their expression and activation. ValiRx is currently using the GeneICE™ platform to target other genes implicated in disease, including targets involved in neurological disease.