RE: RNS out20 Sep 2021 08:31
20 September 2021
Cizzle Biotechnology Holdings Plc
("Cizzle Biotechnology" or the "Company")
Agreement with St George Street Capital
Royalty agreement signed for potential COVID 19 treatment for diabetic patients and possible additional therapeutic indications
Cizzle Biotechnology, the UK based diagnostics developer, is pleased to announce it has executed a royalty sharing agreement with St George Street Capital ("SGSC"), the UK-based biomedical charity. As announced on 22 June 2021, Cizzle Biotechnology signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with SGSC to grant Cizzle Biotechnology potential future royalty payments from the commercialisation of St George Street's therapeutic asset AZD1656 of up to £5 million, plus potentially further payments from the use of a companion diagnostic. The full commercial contract in relation to this has now been entered into, following the announcement on 9 September 2021 of the encouraging clinical trial results from SGSC's ARCADIA trial. The trial was initiated from an existing collaboration between SGSC and AstraZeneca and funded by international investment through Excalibur Medicines Ltd and an HM Government grant through the UKRI/Innovate UK programme.
While future royalties are contingent on the successful development of AZD1656, the recent clinical trial results are a positive step and Cizzle Biotechnology's royalty rights are not limited to the success of AZD1656 for treating COVID 19. Cizzle Biotechnology's royalty rights also cover the use of AZD1656 for other diseases and AZD1656 has been shown to affect the immune system at sites of damaging inflammation which can be typical in autoimmune disease. Under the full commercial contract entered into, in consideration of the potential future royalty stream from the commercialisation of AZD1656, Cizzle Biotechnology is to pay £135,000 to SGSC