ValiRx PLC (AIM:VAL, FRA:EAJF) has been notified that the European Patent Office intends to grant a second patent covering the cancer-killing peptide developed by its majority-owned subsidiary Cytolytix.
The AIM-listed life science company said the application, covering polyleucine-based peptides as anti-cancer agents, is licensed from King's College London and forms a core part of the Cytolytix portfolio.
The notice follows the grant in May of the original formulation patent, which covers the nanoparticles used to deliver the peptide.
ValiRx had requested accelerated examination of the polyleucine application in September last year after filing amendments to the patent description.
Two granted European patents give the company a firmer footing in licensing and partnership talks, which it has said involve a major pharmaceutical company, and in its pursuit of non-dilutive funding.
The Cytolytix peptide works by punching holes in the membranes of cancer cells, destroying them directly while releasing antigens capable of provoking an immune response.
Its lead target is triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that lacks the receptors most existing therapies are designed to hit.
ValiRx filed a further application in May covering a second-generation delivery system built on novel lipid formulations of the peptide.
That filing included data showing immunogenic cell death in triple-negative breast cancer cells, the process by which dying tumour cells release signals that alert the immune system.
Mark Eccleston, chief executive, said a range of proprietary formulations would allow the company to explore different routes of administration across human and veterinary markets.
The immune signalling data also underpins a strategy of testing the peptide in pet animals with naturally occurring tumours.
