Source: Sharecast
The AIM-traded firm said the decision was reached by mutual agreement after TheoremRx declined to proceed with a proposed amendment that would have seen it retain exclusivity in exchange for a $0.2m non-refundable payment by 31 March.
With the termination, ValiRx said it would refocus its prostate cancer asset VAL201 within a dedicated special purpose vehicle and plans to file intellectual property to extend the asset’s patent life.
The company said it had received interest from a new consortium and has initiated early-stage discussions with charities to explore potential support for future clinical development.
ValiRx said it was continuing to prioritise the advancement of early-stage oncology and women’s health assets, and said the decision provided renewed flexibility to reposition VAL201 for further development.
“Whilst the decision to terminate the letter of intent is obviously disappointing, we have contingencies for this eventuality,” said chief executive officer Mark Eccleston.
“Moving VAL201 into a prostate cancer focussed SPV will give us the opportunity to file and develop new, ValiRx owned, IP based on in house technical knowhow to reset the patent coverage back to 20 years with proof of concept data for Val201 2.0 and to seek new partnerships from a position of strength.
“We will apply the same level of technical and commercial assessment applied to all new evaluation programmes.”
At 1425 BST, shares in ValiRx were down 5.26% at 0.45p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.