KING Igraine plc

 
TIDMKING 
 
9 September 2021 
 
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO 
CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION 
(EU) NO. 596/2014, AS AMENDED ("MAR"). ON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT 
VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE ("RIS"), THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW 
CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. 
 
                                  Igraine plc 
 
                                  AQSE: KING 
 
                         ("Igraine" or "the Company") 
 
  Investee Update: Excalibur Medicines reports completion of ARCADIA trial & 
                  starts to progress commercialisation plans 
 
Investee: EML 
 
Igraine plc maintains a 2% Equity Interest in, Excalibur Medicines Ltd ("EML"), 
consistent with the terms of the co-investment agreement entered with Excalibur 
Healthcare Services, a company founded by renowned biotech entrepreneur and the 
company's Executive Chairman, Professor Sir Christopher Evans. 
 
Excalibur Medicines Ltd (EML) is a subsidiary of Excalibur Healthcare Services, 
founded by leading scientific entrepreneur, Professor Sir Chris Evans, OBE. EML 
brought together the scientific intellectual property, international funding 
and a world leading team to take forward the ARCADIA trial. Professor Evans and 
the Excalibur team sourced investment from Mubadala of Abu Dhabi, one of the 
world's leading sovereign wealth funds, Excalibur itself, several high net 
worth individuals, Igraine plc (AQSE: KING) & an HM Government grant through 
the UKRI/Innovate UK programme. 
 
Excalibur Medicines Ltd ("EML") has secured exclusive rights to and owns the 
patents on a drug, AZD1656, which is being developed as a potential therapeutic 
for people with diabetes suffering from COVID-19. As there are very few new 
therapeutics in development for COVID-19 and associated virally transmitted 
diseases (most research is in combining existing treatments) this has the 
potential to be highly attractive to big pharma and biotech buyers. 
 
                   ARCADIA Results & Commercialisation Plans 
 
 Results from ARCADIA Phase II Clinical Trial of A Potential Therapy for 
COVID-19 
 
St George Street Capital, a UK-based biomedical charity, and Excalibur 
Medicines Ltd., a biotechnology investment company, are pleased to announce the 
receipt of the final data from the ARCADIA Phase ll clinical trial which was 
conducted to assess a therapy that could treat diabetic patients suffering from 
COVID-19. 
 
In light of the encouraging trial results, St George Street Capital and 
Excalibur will immediately start to undertake commercial discussions with 
potential licensees and/or fundraise for further clinical trials to investigate 
AZD1656 in a larger study. Further analysis to determine the precise nature of 
the biological effects of AZD1656 that explain the observed clinical outcomes 
will also be conducted. 
 
The trial data has shown the following: 
 
Efficacy: 
 
A strong trend towards reduced mortality in patients receiving AZD1656. This 
was noted in both mortality on treatment and all-cause mortality, which were 
lower in the AZD1656 group compared to the placebo group. The strong trend to 
improved mortality for patients on AZD1656 was observed on top of patients 
receiving other medication, including dexamethasone, as part of standard of 
care. Certain clinically and biochemically defined subsets of patients appeared 
to benefit most from treatment with AZD1656. The data from ARCADIA supports 
continued investigation of AZD1656 for the treatment of patients with COVID-19, 
with or without diabetes, in future clinical trials. 
 
Safety and Tolerability: 
 
AZD1656 was shown to be well-tolerated in this patient population with no 
serious adverse reactions (SARs) occurring. The degree of glycaemic control, as 
measured by the need to increase baseline medication requirements or the need 
to add additional diabetic medications, was no different between the AZD1656 
group and the placebo group. The proportion of Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) 
was numerically lower in the AZD1656 group compared with the placebo group. The 
proportion of Treatment Emergent Adverse Events (TEAE) was also no different 
between the groups. Overall no safety concerns were identified regarding the 
use of AZD1656 in this patient population. 
 
Diabetes, whether type 1 or 2, has been the leading single cause of 
co-morbidity during the pandemic and one in three of all deaths with COVID-19 
in hospital in England have been associated with diabetes. 
 
About the ARCADIA Trial 
 
AZD1656 was identified by St George Street Capital as a potential treatment for 
people with diabetes infected with COVID-19. 
 
The objectives of the ARCADIA clinical trial were to assess the safety and 
tolerability of a glucose kinase activator, AZD1656, and to determine the 
effect of the therapy on clinical improvement and mortality in people with 
diabetes hospitalised with COVID-19. The trial also explored whether AZD1656 
benefits COVID-19 patients via its effects on immune function. 
 
ARCADIA was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II clinical 
trial involving 153 patients. The clinical trial was arranged and structured by 
Professor Sir Chris Evans, Chairman and CEO of Excalibur Healthcare Services, 
through its subsidiary, Excalibur Medicines Ltd. Sir Chris worked closely with 
Professor John Martin and his team at St George Street, a UK-based biomedical 
research charity, which secured the initial project and permission to run the 
trial from AstraZeneca. 
 
The full announcement can be viewed here:www.excaliburhealth.co.uk/news or 
www.sgscapital.org 
 
Martin Walton, Executive Director, said: "The data from the trial is very 
encouraging and the company looks forward to the next developments in this 
exciting project. The trial results are promising and AZD1656 has the potential 
to be an important treatment for people with diabetes who have COVID-19." 
 
The Directors of the Company, who have issued this RIS announcement after due 
and careful enquiry, accept responsibility for its content. 
 
Enquiries 
 
Company: 
 
Martin Walton (Executive Director) 
 
Steve Winfield (Executive Director) 
 
info@igraineplc.com 
 
Office Line: +44 (0) 20 3778 0755 
 
AQSE Growth Market Corporate Adviser 
 
Peterhouse Capital Limited 
 
Guy Miller / Allie Feuerlein 
 
Tel: +44 (0) 207 469 0930 
 
Media inquiries: 
 
Ramsay Smith, Media House International 
 
ramsay@mediahouse.co.uk: +44 (0) 7788414856 
 
 
 
END 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 09, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)

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