ValiRx PLC provided an update on the Evaluation Agreement with Stingray Bio Limited. Historically ValiRx's approach to evaluations has been to commit to spend around £100, 000 over a period of up to 12 months to assess suitability for in licensing new programmes. With the new, stricter criteria applied to evaluations, including ability to monetise assets in a shorter time frame, this resulted in recent decisions not to progress several evaluations at which point all data associated with the program was returned to the originator.

In the case of Stingray, we completed the evaluation and believe the program holds promise but requires additional work. Rather than commit directly to an in license and all associated costs, we have applied a new style of agreement whereby we can carry out limited additional development work combing some outsourced in-silico medicinal chemistry, based on the original Stingray small molecule compounds and background Intellectual property as a starting point, followed by evaluation at Inaphaea Biolabs. Around 50% of the costs for the project will be from the out sourced work and 50% internal costs.

A key difference in this new style of agreement is that on completion, we have an option to in license the de-risked assets, but also, if we do not in-license then we would also benefit if these assets were subject to another deal and would receive 1.5x our combined investment. The non exclusive nature of this agreement means that Stingray can continue to seek additional partners and therefore increase the chances of licensing, co-partnering or delivering a revenue based return which is in line with our priority to monetise assets we work on. This is the first example of our new hybrid style agreement designed to provide a more flexible approach to partnering for in-licensing with options for revenue generation.

Investors are encouraged to engage with the ValiRx management team directly by asking questions and watching video summaries on our website. For further information, please contact us through the provided channels. ValiRx is dedicated to accelerating the translation of innovative science into impactful medicines and improving patient lives in the fields of early-stage cancer therapeutics and women's health. We aim to streamline the drug development process through collaboration and expertise, providing investor-ready assets for further development and commercialization. Visit our website for more information on ValiRx and our portfolio of innovative drug candidates.