Study to be conducted by PharmaLegacy, a leading Contract Research Organization
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, February 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Vidac Pharma Holding Plc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class therapies targeting the HK2/VDAC metabolic checkpoint, today announced the initiation of an in vivo pre-clinical program in psoriasis, marking the first formal evaluation of its proprietary technology platform outside oncology.
The study will be conducted by PharmaLegacy, a highly reputable Contract Research Organization (CRO) with established expertise in dermatology and inflammatory disease models. The program is designed to evaluate the potential of Vidac Pharma’s HK2/VDAC-targeting approach in psoriasis, a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease characterized by excessive keratinocyte proliferation and immune dysregulation.
This initiative represents a strategic expansion of Vidac Pharma’s development pipeline and reflects the broader applicability of its metabolic-based therapeutic platform across diseases driven by pathological cellular metabolism.
Scientific Rationale
Vidac Pharma’s drug candidates are designed to modulate the interaction between Hexokinase 2 (HK2), a key enzyme in the glycolytic pathway, and the Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel (VDAC) located on the outer mitochondrial membrane. In oncology, aberrant HK2-VDAC binding supports the Warburg effect, promoting aerobic glycolysis, excess lactate production, uncontrolled proliferation, and immune evasion.
A growing body of published scientific evidence suggests that similar metabolic abnormalities may play a meaningful role in the pathophysiology of psoriasis through two converging mechanisms:
HK2 Overexpression and Keratinocyte Hyper-Proliferation
Published studies have demonstrated significantly elevated HK2 expression in psoriatic lesions compared to healthy skin. This heightened glycolytic activity is associated with the excessive and dysregulated proliferation of keratinocytes — a defining pathological feature of psoriasis. While psoriasis is a non-malignant condition, the metabolic behavior of psoriatic keratinocytes shares mechanistic similarities with hyper-proliferative processes observed in cancer.
Lactate-Driven Immune Dysregulation and Inflammation
Enhanced glycolysis results in elevated lactate levels, which have been shown to modulate immune cell activity, suppress effective immune responses, and promote pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization. This metabolic-immune interplay is a central contributor to psoriatic inflammation. By targeting pathological HK2-VDAC signaling, Vidac Pharma’s approach may offer a means to normalize both keratinocyte proliferation and the inflammatory microenvironment.
“The scientific rationale for evaluating our HK2/VDAC platform in psoriasis is compelling,” said Dr. Max Herzberg, Chairman and CEO of Vidac Pharma. “The documented overexpression of HK2 in psoriatic tissue, together with the immunomodulatory effects of elevated lactate, provides a strong basis for exploring this pathway in a chronic inflammatory setting. While this program is at an early exploratory stage, the in vivo studies conducted with PharmaLegacy are intended to generate the foundational data required to assess the therapeutic potential of our approach beyond oncology.”
About Vidac Pharma
Vidac Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing first-in-class medicines to help people suffering from a range of oncologic and onco-dermatologic diseases. Vidac develops first-in-class anti-cancer drugs by modifying the hyper-glycolytic tumor microenvironment, targeting the overexpression and wrong anchoring of the Hexokinase 2 metabolic checkpoint (HK2) in cancer cells, to renormalize tumor microenvironment and selectively provoke their programmed death, without affecting surrounding normal tissue. Vidac Pharma’s lead drug candidate, VDA-1102, has demonstrated efficacy against advanced Actinic Keratosis (AK) in Phase 2b studies and showed positive results in Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma (CTCL) in a Phase 2a trial.
Important information
The information in this press release does not constitute a public offer to sell or a solicitation to submit an offer to buy or subscribe to shares of Vidac Pharma Holding PLC, but is for informational purposes only.
The contents of this announcement include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements”. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes”, “estimates,” “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “may”, “will”, “plans”, “continue”, “ongoing”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”, “target”, “seek” or “should”, and include statements the Company makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company’s actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.
Sandra Gamzon
Vidac pharma Holding Plc
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