AI Magazine Issue 10 2018

18 Acquisition International - Issue 10 2018 in the industry and when ‘times are hard’ and cash flow and finance are hard to secure. But with that said the rewards in our industry can be enormous financially, based on the successful outcome of a drug programme. Such rewards however also have a society-leaning ‘feel good factor’ and one can take substantial personal satisfaction when a compound works, and a drug contributes significantly to an individual’s improved health and well-being.” Whilst discussing the state of the industry currently, Satu highlights a few of the challenges which are affecting it, noting on how the team at ValiRx will work to overcome it. “The pharmaceutical industry is actively looking to fill pipelines and increase its market penetration with novel and innovative drugs and therapeutics, which increasingly originate from specialised biotechnology companies, such as ValiRx. Here at ValiRx, we believe that the company’s development programmes are well placed to meet some of the industry interest in those areas in which the company operates. ValiRx’s programmes are developed to meet clear unmet medical need in large and growing markets and the company’s management is actively in dialogue with key players within the Bio/Pharmaceutical industry.” Brining the interview to a close, Satu envisions what developments may occur within the wider industry, detailing the ways in which ValiRx will overcome them. “Worldwide, cancer is the second leading cause of death after heart disease. The recent development of new technologies and tools have revolutionised our understanding of cancer and have allowed increasingly more specific approaches or targeted treatments for the disease. From a technical point of view, it is reasonable to expect science to be able to one day, turn most cancers into either curable or chronic diseases and caught early and with the right therapeutic approach, several cancers will be highly treatable.” Looking ahead to what the future holds for the firm, Satu signs off by revealing the exciting plans which lie in the pipeline for the innovative firm. “Given the current industry climate, we at ValiRx believe that in view of the progress of our clinical trials, the Company’s therapeutic approaches are increasingly attractive to pharma partners, as a licensing opportunity or a co-development partner. The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly looking for novel therapies in the oncology arena and accordingly, ValiRx is entering a new and very exciting phase, which the Company believes should result in the crystallisation of substantial value. “Cancer treatments, such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, are still improving and recent exciting advances in the cancer arena today, lie in the development of novel and targeted therapies, otherwise known as “Precision Medicine”. This targeted, personalised medicine includes early stage diagnosis of every specific cancer, tailor-made therapeutic intervention and the careful monitoring of progress. With the development of target-based agents, primed to attack only identified cancer cells, higher response rates for treatments, as well as less toxic and more effective outcomes, are now possible. New drugs in this group—such as those in ValiRx’s pipeline—promise to greatly improve outcomes for cancer patients.” “Given the current industry climate, we at ValiRx believe that in view of the progress of our clinical trials, the Company’s therapeutic approaches are increasingly attractive to pharma partners, as a licensing opportunity or a co-development partner.”