ValiRx PLC (LSE:VAL) shares jumped 13% on Monday after its majority-owned subsidiary Cytolytix secured key progress on its patent portfolio and cancer therapy research.
The European Patent Office has issued a notice of allowance for Cytolytix’s application covering nanoparticles for anti-cancer peptides.
Another application, covering polyleucine-based peptides, has also been deemed allowable, with an accelerated examination requested. The company said these patents form the core of Cytolytix’s intellectual property.
Cytolytix has also advanced its second-generation delivery platform, with materials now set to be tested on ScreenIn3D’s lab-on-a-chip system using breast cancer cell models.
Early-stage results with the Open University indicate the peptides may be effective against prostate cancer under hypoxic, or low-oxygen, conditions where chemotherapy often fails.