ValiRx PLC

("ValiRx" or the "Company")

Cytolytix Commercial update

London, UK - ValiRx Plc (AIM: VAL), a life sciences company focusing on early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health, is pleased to provide the following updates on its majority owned subsidiary Cytolytix Limited ("Cytolytix").

Cytolytix has received a notice of allowance for the European Patent application "Nanoparticle for Anti-Cancer Peptides and Uses Thereof" (application No. 21798092.9), a key patent in the Cytolytix portfolio. This follows an earlier notification that claims within the European Patent Application "Polyleucine-Based Peptides As Anti-Cancer Agents" (application No. 20793085.0) are considered allowable and an accelerated examination has been requested, following filing of routine amendments to the patent description, to expedite notice of allowance. These two patent families represent the core IP for Cytolytix whilst additional protection is sought for new inventions currently under validation. Further details of these improvements will be released once the corresponding patents have been filed.

Cytolytix has completed development and evaluation of its second-generation delivery platform and scheduled materials for evaluation in Screenin3D's UpScale^3Dlab-on-a-chip platform including Inaphaea's Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patient Derived Cell models provided under the Evaluation and Commercial Use agreement announced on 3 February 2025. The evaluation will include assessment of the potential to activate the host immune system through immunogenic cell death.

Cytolytix's peptides have also shown to be effective in prostate cancer with preliminary results developed through our collaboration with the Open University, funded through their knowledge transfer Voucher scheme, indicating potential elevated activity under hypoxia. This state low oxygenation is associated with certain cancers, including prostate cancer and Triple Negative Breast Cancer and usually drives resistance to chemotherapy. Both these cancers also display a high population of Cancer Associated Fibroblasts which is replicated in Inaphaea Biolab's Patient derived Cell models. Inaphaea is working with the Open University and ScreenIn3D to develop mixed CAF/Cancer cell models for more representative testing. This work, in part, is supported by pump priming funding from the Open University's Higher Education Innovation funding.

ValiRx CEO and Cytolytix Director, Mark Eccleston, will be presenting Cytolytix oncolytic peptide program at the Charles River Biotech Symposium in Carlsbad (7 - 10 September 2025) and at the Oxford Global Discovery & Development US 2025 in San Diego (2 - 3 October 2025) following a series of presentations earlier in the year. These meetings represent excellent partnering opportunities as exemplified by the deal with Omios Bio which followed IO 360 in Boston in January 2025. ValiRx is in discussions with several potential partners to progress Cytolytix, including a major pharmaceutical company and further non-dilutive funding options with our academic partners. 

Mark Eccleston, CEO of ValiRx commented "We are pleased to receive the European Patent Office's notice of allowance and acknowledgement of patentable claims for Cytolytix's core intellectual property as we build our proprietary position in the oncolytic peptide space. We are expanding these core patents with new IP developed using in house expertise at ValiRx and Inaphaea and we expect to strengthen our portfolio with new filings in the coming weeks.

"In addition, we are rapidly progressing with the in-vitro and ex-vivo validation of the platform by leveraging the combined experience and resources of our tCRO, Inaphaea Biolabs, with the advanced non animal 3D-culture testing capabilities we have brought in through our capability partners. Development of triple negative breast cancer models on Screenin3D's UpScale^3Dlab-on-a-chip platform was a key strategic objective for ValiRx's cytolytic peptide program through our partially owned subsidiary, Cytolytix. We are further extending these capabilities to include VoxCell's proprietary fully perfusable vascularised 3D tissue culture models as we announced in July 2025.

"These advanced models are critical in assessing the cell killing efficacy of our oncolytic peptides as well as their potential to engage the host immune system. The potential immune boost feature of this class of therapeutics could significantly enhance both efficacy and durability of response."

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR"). The Directors of the Company take responsibility for this announcement.

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Notes for Editors

About ValiRx

ValiRx is a life science company focused on early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health, accelerating the translation of innovative science into impactful medicines to improve patient lives.

ValiRx provides the scientific, financial, and commercial framework for enabling rapid translation of innovative science into clinical development.

Using its extensive and proven experience in research and drug development, the team at ValiRx selects and incubates promising novel drug candidates and guides them through an optimised process of development, from pre-clinical studies to clinic and investor-ready assets.

ValiRx connects diverse disciplines across scientific, technical, and commercial domains, with the aim of achieving a more streamlined, less costly, drug development process. The team works closely with carefully selected collaborators and leverages the combined expertise required for science to advance.

Lead candidates from ValiRx's portfolio are outlicensed or partnered with investors through ValiRx subsidiary companies for further clinical development and commercialisation.

ValiRx listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2006 and trades under the ticker symbol: VAL.

For further information, visit: www.valirx.com