ValiRx plc (AIM: VAL), a life sciences company specialising in early-stage cancer therapeutics, announced on Wednesday that it has signed an evaluation and option agreement with Canadian drug development firm Altus Formulation Inc.

The 12-month agreement will assess the potential of Altus' SmartCelle drug delivery technologies and anti-inflammatory compounds for cancer treatment.

ValiRx will evaluate SmartCelle's ability to improve the solubility, potency and targeting of various drug candidates, including ValiRx's CLX001 cytolytic peptide and Altus' CB2 agonist TA-A001. The evaluation will use Patient Derived Cells (PDCs) at ValiRx's subsidiary Inaphaea BioLabs, with further in vivo testing to follow. ValiRx holds an option to license the technologies for cancer treatments, which must be exercised within three months after identifying a clinical development candidate.

Any resulting clinical development candidate will require a separate licensing agreement, with negotiations limited to three months following the exercise of the option.

ValiRx is focused on accelerating innovative science in cancer therapeutics and women's health, guiding drug candidates from pre-clinical stages to clinical and investor-ready assets.