RCS - Vela Technologies - Update re. St George Street Capital COVID-19 trial

Vela TechnologiesAnnouncement

11/01/2021 07:00

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RNS Number : 1517L  Vela Technologies PLC  11 January 2021

Reach- non-regulatory announcement

Vela Technologies plc

("Vela" or "the Company")

Update re. St George Street Capital Limited COVID-19 trial

The Board of Vela notes the recent update published by St George Street
Capital Limited ("SGS") and is pleased with the progress made and the approval
received in Czech Republic and Romania in relation to its ARCADIA clinical
trial to test SGS002 ("the Asset"), a drug that could be beneficial to
diabetic patients suffering from COVID-19.

The full announcement can be found in the News segment of the SGS website,
https://www.sgscapital.org/ (https://www.sgscapital.org/) , and is copied
below.

Details of Vela's economic interest in the potential commercialisation of the
Asset, the Asset and the ARCADIA trial were included in the announcement
published by Vela on 20 October 2020.

SGS holds 1,100,000,000 ordinary shares in Vela, representing 9.11 per cent.
of Vela's issued share capital. These ordinary shares are subject to a lock-in
agreement until the successful completion of Phase II of the ARCADIA trial, or
for a period of two months following completion of the ARCADIA trial, should
the outcome of the trials not meet the minimum threshold.

The update issued by SGS is reproduced in full below:

Covid-19 Trial Update - 04-01-21

Approval Received to Begin Recruiting in Czech Republic and Romania

The ARCADIA clinical trial is a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial
to assess the safety and efficacy of AZD1656 in patients with either Type 1 or
Type 2 diabetes and admitted to hospital with COVID-19. The trial, which is
sponsored by the UK charity St George Street, has successfully recruited 50 of
the planned 150 patients across 11 UK hospital sites over the past 3 months.
To help ensure timely completion of study enrolment, the ARCADIA trial is now
expanding with the addition of approximately 23 new hospital sites over the
coming weeks. In addition to 4 new sites in the UK, up to 19 sites are to be
opened in Czech Republic and Romania. Regulatory and ethics committee approval
for both new countries was received at the end of December 2020 and the first
patients from Czech Republic and Romania are expected to be recruited to
ARCADIA before the end of January 2021.

Both Czech Republic and Romania have a high prevalence of diabetes (10.2% and
8.8% of the population having diabetes respectively), this compares with
around 6.5% of people in the UK. In addition, both countries have regularly
reported over 100 deaths from COVID-19 per day throughout December, indicating
a high unmet clinical need.

The decision and rapid action to obtain approval in Romania and Czech Republic
is testament to the strength of the St George Street team and its
collaborative relationships with its development partners. St George Street is
delighted to have received such rapid regulatory approval in the two new
countries and looks forward to collaborating closely with the investigational
teams in both countries.

The mechanism of actions of AZD1656, both blood glucose lowering and potential
immunomodulatory action, are independent of viral mutations. AZD1656 activates
glucokinase, which is expected to increase the migration of T regulatory cells
in addition to reducing blood glucose. Reducing hyperglycaemia (high blood
glucose) is increasingly seen to be important to improve outcomes in people
with diabetes and COVID-19. Migration of regulatory T cells is expected to
dampen down the hyperinflammation seen in the lungs for instance, that results
in severe COVID-19.

Dave Tapolczay, CEO of St George Street said 'I am delighted with the progress
of the ARCADIA trial so far in the UK and through adding an additional 23
hospital sites we expect to see a significant impact on patient recruitment
of the trial. Credit must go to the team in obtaining regulatory approval so
quickly in Czech Republic and Romania. As a society we will need many
solutions to battle the surging pandemic and I am proud that here at St George
Street we are playing our part in helping to find those solutions.'

 

For further information, please contact:

 Vela Technologies plc                                          Tel: +44 (0) 7421 728875

 Brent Fitzpatrick, Non-Executive Chairman

 James Normand, Executive Director

 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)   Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656
 Nick Athanas/Asha Chotai

 Peterhouse Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                      Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930

 Lucy Williams / Duncan Vasey / Eran Zucker

 

About Vela Technologies

Vela Technologies (AIM: VELA) is an investing company focused on early stage
and pre-IPO long term disruptive technology investments. Vela's investee
companies have either developed ways of utilising technology or are developing
technology with a view to disrupting the businesses or sector in which they
operate. More recently, Vela Technologies has also started to focus on
existing listed companies where valuations may offer additional opportunities.

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