ValiRx Share News (VAL)

(Sharecast News) - Life science company ValiRx announced a new partnership with StingRay Bio on Friday, aiming to explore a promising lead series of drug candidates designed for oncology applications.

The AIM-traded firm said the lead series of molecules under investigation was developed by StingRay using a target-based drug design approach.

It said the molecules were intended to serve as novel candidate drugs, specifically targeting kinases with well-established connections to cancer.

Over the next 12 months, ValiRx said it would conduct a defined series of preclinical tests on the molecules to assess their potential for commercialisation and validate the technology.

Researchers would examine how the molecules interact with various cancer types during the preclinical evaluation.

That research would occur at Inaphaea BioLabs and involve collaborative efforts with partners.

The investigation would also involve lead optimisation of the molecules within the series, assessing their activity using patient-derived cells from the recently acquired Imagen biobank, and evaluating the safety profiles of selected lead candidates.

ValiRx said it would bear the cost of the collaborative work, with expenses capped at £0.1m over the 12 months.

At the end of the evaluation period, ValiRx could licence the technology under pre-agreed terms.

"It is hugely exciting to have another evaluation agreement commencing, particularly one such as this which has a high pedigree of medicinal chemistry behind it to build the lead series of molecules for us to continue its optimisation," said chief executive officer Dr Suzy Dilly.

"I'm looking forward to working closely with the team at StingRay to continue the project."

At 0932 GMT, shares in ValiRx were up 1.18% at 12.14p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.