Shares in Cizzle Biotechnology Holdings PLC (LSE:CIZ) climbed 9% to 1.8p after the early cancer detection specialist announced it had signed a letter of intent with a major UK clinical diagnostics group that provides laboratory services to the NHS.
The agreement covers the verification and validation of Cizzle’s CIZ1B biomarker test for early lung cancer detection, working in collaboration with an NHS Foundation Trust.
If successful, the provider could become Cizzle’s exclusive UK supplier of the test.
Developed from research led by Professor Dawn Coverley at the University of York, the CIZ1B test identifies a biomarker linked to early-stage lung cancer.
The company already has a licensing deal in North America and the Caribbean worth up to US$2.4 million, with more than half a million dollars received to date.
Under the new partnership, the provider will carry out validation and provide clinical input, while Cizzle’s technical team supports on-site testing.
A full commercial agreement would follow, potentially expanding distribution across the NHS and into Europe.
Executive chairman Allan Syms said the partnership marks “the next phase of our growth plans,” aiming to make the test available to UK patients “as soon as possible.”