Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Enters into Non-binding Letter of Intent for Proposed Acquisition of Varian Biopharmaceuticals

18 May 2023

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Enters into Non-binding Letter of Intent for Proposed Acquisition of Varian Biopharmaceuticals

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: BDRX) (“Biodexa” or the “Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of products aimed at primary and metastatic cancers of the brain is pleased to announce that it has signed non-binding letter of intent to potentially acquire Varian Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (“VarianBio”), a private US precision oncology company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer.

Background to the proposed acquisition
In recent communications, the Company has referenced a shift in strategy from a drug delivery company to a therapeutics company. Currently, the Company’s only clinical asset is MTX110 which is being developed for three intractable rare and orphan brain cancers. The Company’s intention is to add to, and diversify, its development pipeline with a continued focus on rare and orphan products and/or oncology therapeutics and VarianBio represents the first of such opportunity.

Information on VarianBio
VarianBio is developing a high-potency, specific atypical protein kinase C iota (“aPKCi”) inhibitor with best-in-class potential as a treatment for various oncology indications with an initial focus on basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and molecularly targeted solid tumors.

VarianBio’s rationally designed aPKCi small molecule inhibitor candidate that has been optimized for potency, selectivity and tolerability. aPKCi has been implicated as an oncogene in a number of human cancers, including BCC, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer, among others. aPKCi has also been demonstrated to have a role in allowing the immune system to recognize tumors, recruit immune cells into the area, and ramp up the anti-tumor response to kill cancer cells in the lab by shrinking their tumors.

The active pharmaceutical ingredient in VAR-101/102, a novel aPKCi inhibitor, has demonstrated dose dependent anti-tumor activity in murine and human BCC cell lines, as well as other cancer models. VAR-101 will be developed in a topical formulation for BCC which has the potential to offer optimal clinical utility as a surgical neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. Following completion of IND-enabling skin toxicology studies, VAR-101 is targeting to start a Phase I proof-of-concept study in the first quarter of 2024. VAR-102, an oral formulation of the active aPKCi inhibitor, lends itself to broader applications in multiple tumor types.