Inaphaea Biolabs Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of ValiRx plc, focused on advanced in-vitro and translational biology services, has announced a new nine-month Evaluation and Material Transfer Agreement with The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University and the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer – Commercialisation of Research (IRICoR).
Under the agreement, Inaphaea and parent company, ValiRx, will lead and execute a comprehensive evaluation programme to establish target engagement and potency of a second-generation, orally available RNA Helicase inhibitor. The programme will encompass a range of advanced in-vitro studies, including patient-derived cell models, alongside digital-twin human prediction studies and supporting development work. All experimental work will be carried out through Inaphaea’s laboratories and scientific team over the nine-month period being funded by ValiRx.
The evaluation programme is designed to accelerate the translation of a late-stage preclinical asset toward clinical readiness, combining Inaphaea’s growing in-vitro screening capabilities with access to digital-twin technologies via strategic partners. All results generated during the evaluation period will be owned by ValiRx.
In parallel, IRICoR will establish a Canadian-registered, wholly owned subsidiary (“NewCo”), with the purpose of commercialising the evaluation results and background intellectual property. NewCo will be granted an exclusive, worldwide, sub-licensable licence to the background intellectual property.
Mark Eccleston, CEO of ValiRx plc, commented:
“This agreement highlights the strategic importance of Inaphaea within the ValiRx group. The asset is one of the most advanced programmes we have accessed to date, and Inaphaea’s in-vitro and translational capabilities, combined with digital-twin modelling, allow us to rapidly generate high-quality, decision-enabling data. This structure reflects our confidence in Inaphaea’s ability to add material value to later-stage assets while supporting multiple routes to commercialisation in both human and veterinary health markets.”
Martin Gouldstone, Chairman of ValiRx plc, added:
“This is an important agreement with McGill and IRICoR as it reflects ValiRx’s commitment to identifying, developing and partnering high quality, later stage assets that are closer to the clinic and therefore commercialisation. This new approach builds on the strategic review initiated by the new management team and is the first, next generation, asset we have secured under this format. In particular, this new style agreement envisages additional, external, investment into the NewCo set up to commercialise the results alongside future investments from ValiRx. This approach to diluting individual assets rather than the ValiRx is designed to maximise the use and impact of our funding.”
Claude Larose, VP Business Development at IRICoR commented:
“We are delighted to be working with Inaphaea ValiRx and to commercialise our RNA Helicase asset. McGill’s science team have worked closely with ValiRx’s Director of Research to build a strong and value adding evaluation program. In parallel, we will set up a commercial entity with a strategic objective to maximize the clinical and commercial value of the evaluation results and original data and look forward to working with ValiRx and their appointed directors to secure additional investment. For clinical development we envisage, NewCo may (1) out-license the Technology and Background Intellectual Property to a biopharmaceutical partner, (2) raise additional institutional capital to independently advance the program into clinical studies, or (3) pursue a strategic transaction, including a potential sale or merger. This structure provides multiple pathways to value creation while maintaining alignment between ValiRx, McGill and IRICoR.”
The collaboration represents a further step in positioning Inaphaea Biolabs as a specialised platform for the rapid evaluation and de-risking of high-quality, later-stage therapeutic assets, supporting efficient translation toward clinical development and commercial outcomes.