UK and Israel-based Vidac Pharma plc (STU: T9G, WKN: A3DTUQ, ISIN: GB00BM9XQ619) is another clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class oncology and oncodermatology therapies. Its breakthrough new technology, which corrects a common feature of all cancer cells, holds the promise of a fundamentally new way of treating cancer and is becoming a routine part of oncology combination therapies.
Founded in 2012, the company is led by CEO Prof. Max Herzberg, one of the founding fathers of the Israeli biotech industry. Vidac Pharma develops drugs with the aim of reversing the abnormal metabolism of cancer cells and thus stopping the proliferation of cancer cells. With a strong IP portfolio, Vidac's main asset is in clinical trials for two indications, while a powerful new drug candidate with a potential broad application in solid tumors is entering preclinical testing. Vidac's lead product VDA-1102, currently in clinical development as an ointment for patients with actinic keratosis, addresses an early form of skin cancer and is being tested in a separate study for a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) indication.
A second molecule VDA-1275, which could be used for a broad spectrum of solid tumors, has already proven to be a powerful candidate against cancer cells in ongoing preclinical studies. At the end of March 2024, Vidac received approval for VDA-1275 from the Japanese Patent Office. While the active ingredient has already been shown to be effective in a large number of tumors in animal experiments, it also demonstrates strong synergistic effects in combination with two widely used chemotherapeutic agents on human liver cells grown in the laboratory. As early as February 2024, Vidac Pharma was able to statistically significantly extend survival time in a colorectal cancer model in mice compared to the chemotherapeutic Opdivo (nivolumab) from Bristol-Myers Squibb. In a model of human liver cancer cells, the use of VDA-1275 in the laboratory reduced the administration of the cell growth inhibitors sorafenib and cisplatin and still reduced IC50 cancer cell viability by 50 % and 95 % respectively. Clinical trials are now being sought to validate the outstanding results.
Vidac Pharma has been listed on the Hamburg and Stuttgart stock exchanges since mid-2023 and is very actively traded on some days. A company valuation carried out in 2023 put the enterprise value at a good EUR 80 million or EUR 1.15 per share. Due to the progress made in research, the value should quickly come to the attention of Big Pharma. A market capitalization of just under EUR 11 million in no way reflects the investments that have already been made in the company historically. A strong increase in the current year should therefore come as no surprise!