SalvaRx Group plc Grant from the European Commission for new product (8533V)
21 April 2016 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSALV
RNS Number : 8533V
SalvaRx Group plc
21 April 2016
21 April 2016
SalvaRx Group plc
("SalvaRx" or the "Company")
Grant funding from the European Commission for a new product
SalvaRx (LON: SALV), a biotechnology company focused on
immunotherapy for cancer, is pleased to announce that an
international multi-disciplinary consortium of 11 academic and
commercial partners, including its subsidiary, iOx Therapeutics
Ltd. ("iOx"), has received an EUR8.3 million Horizon 2020 grant to
support the development of new immunotherapy candidates. iOx will
benefit directly as one of the candidates being developed is a new
combination product based on one of its compounds. In addition, iOx
will be able to reclaim EUR150,000 of its development costs
associated with the new product.
The consortium consists of academic experts in cancer
immunotherapy and tumour immunology from five leading academic
institutions (including the University of Oxford) and biotechnology
companies or service providers with significant track records in
preclinical drug development and clinical trials.
The consortium will develop a new product that combines iOx's
iNKT agonist with an NY-ESO-1 tumour vaccine developed by the
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. These two components are
co-formulated into a nanoparticle (called IMM65). The
co-formulation of these products may show substantially enhanced
anti-tumour activity compared to if used separately. The Horizon
2020 grant will fund the manufacture of IMM65 and its testing in
bladder, ovarian, lung and other solid tumour patients. The
consortium will select patients who test positive for the tumour
antigen NY-ESO-1 in order to identify patients most likely to
respond.
Ian Walters, the CEO of SalvaRx commented: "We are extremely
pleased to have been awarded a grant from Horizon 2020. Academic
and private collaborations like this are critical for propelling
scientific discovery and development forward and helping patients
access potentially life-saving innovations more quickly. iOx's
participation in this consortium gives iOx an additional product
that is fully funded through multiple Phase 2 trials and a new
platform for creating combination immunotherapy products to address
different solid tumours."
Horizon 2020, Europe's largest Research and Innovation programme
which runs from 2014 to 2020, provides funding for ground breaking
research or innovation aiming to improve European standards and
promote world-class science.
-Ends-
SalvaRx Group plc
Ian Walters (Chief Executive) Tel: +1 203-441-5451
Northland Capital Partners Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20
Nominated Adviser and Broker 3861 6625
Matthew Johnson / Edward Hutton
(Corporate Finance)
John Howes / Abigail Wayne (Corporate
Broking)
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20
Joint Broker 7469 0932
Lucy Williams / Duncan Vasey
Media enquiries:
Abchurch Communications Limited
Jamie Hooper / Alex Shaw Tel: +44 (0) 20
7398 7712
salvaRx@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com
Notes to Editors
SalvaRx
SalvaRx was founded in 2014 to develop therapies within the
rapidly growing immuno-oncology market, which uses treatments
designed to boost the body's natural defences to fight the
cancer.
Immuno-oncology therapy is a fast growing and new therapeutic
area, a market expected to grow to $80 billion worldwide by 2020
(Global & USA Cancer Immunotherapy Market Analysis 2020).
SalvaRx's strategy is to invest in a portfolio of companies
involved in novel cancer immunotherapies and develop them up to
clinical proof of concept. SalvaRx provides portfolio companies
with operational support in addition to capital, either by managing
its portfolio companies directly or augmenting an existing
team.
Though its investment in iOx, SalvaRx is developing, under
licence from the Ludwig Institute, a series of small molecules for
cancer immunotherapy. iOx has a clinical trial sponsorship
agreement with the University of Oxford to fund the first in human
Phase I/II clinical trial for its lead compound.
SalvaRx's management team have a proven track record of
discovering and commercialising drugs in the area of cancer
immunotherapy with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson.
The team is supported by an extended network of senior academic and
industry executives to promote commercial and scientific outcomes,
including licensing and partnering discussions. SalvaRx benefits
from an investment by Jim Mellon.
For more information please visit: www.salvarx.io
About the consortium
The consortium, known as the PRECIOUS consortium, consists of
academic experts in the field from five leading institutes
(RadboudUMC, University of Konstanz, Institute of Macromolecular
Chemistry ASCR, University of Oxford and Fondazione IRCCS Istituto
Nazionale dei Tumori) with outstanding track records in the fields
of immunotherapy, tumour immunology, preclinical drug development
and clinical trials. In addition, it includes cutting-edge biotech
companies that will enable project results to be translated to the
clinic. Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH is the lead manufacturer
of PLGA-based nanoparticles and will bring in invaluable expertise
on manufacturing of nanomedicines. iTeos Therapeutics will develop
and provide novel immunomodulators that target the tumour
micro-environment. iOx Therapeutics and Oncoarendi Therapeutics
will contribute their promising, novel immunomodulators (iNKT and
ARG inhibitors respectively) to be part of the immunomodulating
nanomedicine platform. SMS-oncology will support the clinical
development path with their broad knowledge on clinical trial
design and implementation. ttopstart, involved in developing the
business cases of many leading cancer therapies and diagnostic
tests, will be responsible for the business aspects of PRECIOUS by
ensuring a strong exploitation strategy and tight project
management. The combined expertise will allow the PRECIOUS
consortium to truly perform translational research towards benefit
of the most important stakeholder, cancer patients in need of novel
treatment strategies. The project will commence in May 2016 and has
a duration of 60 months.
To learn more about the project, visit the EC website
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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