ValiRx PLC (LON:VAL) has given its support to the UK government’s new long-term plan, which was unveiled on Monday.
In the ten-year plan, NHS bosses said they wanted to find ways to detect cancers earlier. Currently, only half of the people diagnosed with the disease are identified early on – at stage one or two.
READ: ValiRx hopes to expedite partner discussions with peer review of lung cancer treatment
“ValiRx is an innovative biotechnology company developing novel and improved therapeutics, both in the UK and globally,” said chief executive Satu Vainikka.
“The government's recently announced ten-year plan of investing in the prevention and early diagnosis of diseases, such as certain neurological, mental and oncological diseases, is a policy that we have been following and striving to address for some time.”
ValiRx’s lead anti-cancer compound, VAL401, performed well in a Phase II study last year, with results showing that palliative stage lung cancer patients could expect to see improvements in quality of life as well as improved survival prospects.
Its other clinical stage compound, VAL201 has “performed extremely well” in its Phase I/II prostate cancer trial so far.
Personalised medicines
The 136-page report also set out plans to pour more money into personalised medicine, especially in the treatment of cancers.
Traditional treatments such as chemotherapy are what are called non-specific agents, but scientists are increasingly finding ways to develop targeted drugs that ‘suit’ a particular subset of patients, making them more effective.
ValiRx shares edged 0.5% higher in late-morning trading to 0.83p.