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

Vela TechnologiesAnnouncement

07/03/2022 07:15

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RNS Number : 7780D  Vela Technologies PLC  07 March 2022

7 March 2022

Vela Technologies plc

("Vela" or "the Company")

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

 

The Board of Vela (AIM: VELA), an AIM-quoted investing company focused on
early-stage and pre-IPO disruptive technology investments, notes the
announcement made by St George Street Capital ("SGSC") which provides an
update on the positive outcome of the ARCADIA COVID-19 therapy trial.

Under an agreement entered into in August 2019, SGSC acquired the right to
develop and commercialise two assets from a major global pharmaceutical
company, one of which includes the licence to a drug that could be beneficial
to diabetic patients suffering with COVID-19 (the "Asset"). 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.

 

James Normand, Director of Vela, commented:

"This update from SGSC indicates that the promise shown by earlier test
results (which we have reported on previously) is being maintained.  We are
pleased that the latest analysis of the results of the study of the
application of the AZD1656 treatment is sufficiently encouraging to result in
active engagement with potential commercial partners; and thus to vindicate
our decision to invest.  We remain confident that the AZD1656 treatment has
the potential to show a healthy return for SGSC and therefore for Vela."

 

Full details of the joint press release issued today by SGSC and Excalibur
Medicines Ltd ("EML"), a biotechnology investment company, is extracted below.
The Asset is referred to in the press release below as AZD1656:

 

Further analysis of data from the ARCADIA clinical study confirms that the
addition of AZD1656 treatment to standard care resulted in fewer deaths and
earlier hospital discharge in COVID-19 patients than did placebo treatment.

The ARCADIA Phase II multi-centre study was undertaken in over 150 diabetic
patients hospitalised due to moderate to severe COVID-19 infection. Patients
received either AZD1656 or placebo daily for up to 21 days in addition to
standard care and antidiabetic medications. To be clear, all patients in the
trial received standard of care treatment (over 70% in both groups received
dexamethasone) with those in the drug group receiving AZD1656 in addition. No
deaths occurred in those receiving AZD1656 in the first week of treatment,
whereas six deaths occurred in the placebo group. All-cause mortality rates
within 28 days of admission favoured the AZD1656 patients, with only four
deaths occurring, versus nine deaths in the placebo group.

Thirty patients in the AZD1656 group (38%) were discharged from hospital
within seven days of admission, but only 18 patients (25%) receiving placebo
treatment. AZD1656 treatment was shown to be safe and well-tolerated.

In addition to the clinical benefit observed in this high-risk patient group,
the immunological data gathered from the trial strongly supports SGSC's
rationale for the ARCADIA study by confirming that AZD1656 is an
immunomodulator which damps down the inflammatory response characteristic of
COVID-19 infection, while enhancing the virus-specific immune response.

Thus far, only a small number of repurposed or repositioned drugs have
demonstrated benefits in treating COVID-19 infection in early clinical
study(1). SGSC believes that AZD1656 has the potential to become a valuable
addition to the very small number of available COVID-19 drug treatments,
offering a safer and more effective alternative to immunomodulatory treatments
such as dexamethasone and other steroids, infused anti-cytokines (such as
tocilizumab) and Janus kinase inhibitors(2).

AZD1656 has an important advantage over small molecule and antibody antiviral
agents in that due to its immodulatory effect, efficacy is unlikely to be
compromised in treating disease caused by new coronavirus variants. The highly
infectious Omicron variant appears to be associated with milder disease
symptoms and lower hospitalisation rates, but we may not be so fortunate with
future variants. "Variant agnostic", readily stockpiled, transported and
easily administered treatments such as AZD1656 are essential for future
pandemic preparedness.

SGSC is actively engaged in commercial discussions with appropriate global and
regional pharmaceutical companies, with the objective of outright sale,
partnership in future development or securing funding for the additional
clinical studies necessary to get this to market. Ideally AZD1656 would be
evaluated in broader non-diabetic patient populations, both hospitalised
patients and those at higher risk of hospitalisation due to underlying health
conditions. Despite the unknowns around the evolution of the pandemic, SGSC
believes that AZD1656 has the potential to generate significant long-term
revenue.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been truly global, and SGSC believes that AZD1656
could be particularly valuable in countries where limited hospital resources,
low vaccine uptake and a high prevalence of vulnerable individuals have
conspired to push up hospitalisation and death rates.

About AZD1656

AZD1656 was originally developed by AstraZeneca as a diabetes treatment and
has an extensive record of safety in clinical studies involving more than one
thousand subjects.  Preclinical data suggested a likely immune mode of
action, leading SGSC to secure a licence to the agent as a therapy for
inflammatory conditions.

In addition to the ARCADIA study supported by EML, the Mubadala Sovereign
Wealth Fund, Chlodwig Enterprises and UKRI / Innovate UK, SGSC has actively
built on the scope of AZD1656 through patent filing (COVID-19 combination
treatment) and intends to exploit the beneficial immunomodulatory effect in
immune dysfunction applications.

 

 1  COVID-19 early treatment: real-time analysis of 1,489 studies.
https://c19early.com (https://c19early.com) . Accessed 3(rd) Match 2022

 2  NIH Covid-19 Treatment Guidelines. Table 4f. Characteristics of
Immunomodulators. https://tinyurl.com/3jbeucyh (https://tinyurl.com/3jbeucyh)
  Accessed 3rd March 2022

 

 

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/Piers Shimwell
 Peterhouse Capital Limited  (Joint Broker)                       Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930
 Lucy Williams / Duncan Vasey / Eran Zucker

 

About Vela Technologies

Vela Technologies plc (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. Vela Technologies will also invest in already-listed
companies where valuations offer additional opportunities.

 

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