REG - Avacta Group PLC - Appointment of Christina Coughlin

AvactaAnnouncement

19/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 2193A  Avacta Group PLC  19 January 2024

 

 

 

19 January 2024

 

Avacta Group plc

 

("Avacta" or "the Group" or "the Company")

 

Appointment of Christina Coughlin, M.D., Ph.D. as Head of Research and
Development

 

Appointment marks the transition from a research organization to a clinical
stage biotechnology company

 

Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a life sciences company developing innovative,
targeted oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics, is pleased to announce that
Christina Coughlin, M.D., Ph.D. will take up the position of Head of Research
and Development, overseeing all clinical development and pre-clinical research
activities of the Therapeutics Division.

Dr. Coughlin has served as a Non-executive Director of Avacta Group plc since
March 2022 and has recently acted as Consultant Medical Adviser to the
Therapeutics Division. Chris trained as an oncologist and immunologist and has
been pivotal in driving the clinical development strategy for AVA6000,
Avacta's lead pre|CISION™ tumour targeted therapy, and the broader drug
pipeline strategy at the Company. Dr. Coughlin will take up the permanent post
of Head of Research and Development on 1(st) February, responsible for all
pre-clinical research and clinical development activities and pipeline
strategy. Dr. Coughlin will remain on the Avacta Board as an Executive
Director.

Her early career began in large pharmaceutical companies including Wyeth,
Pfizer and Novartis. Christina has since held several senior leadership roles
in biotech companies including Immunocore (NASDAQ: IMCR), Tmunity and Rubius
where she was Chief Medical Officer, leading clinical development,
translational medicine and regulatory efforts across the pipelines of those
companies. Most recently she served as the Chief Executive Officer of
Cytolmmune Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the
development of novel cancer immunotherapy products.

Dr. Coughlin earned her M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and
trained in haematology and oncology at the Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia.  Her post-doctoral research was under Robert Vonderheide, M.D.,
D.Phil. in the Translational Research Group at the University of Pennsylvania
under the direction of Carl June, M.D.

Avacta also announces that Dr. Fiona McLaughlin will step down as Chief
Scientific Officer of the Therapeutics Division after three years in the role,
during which she has contributed significantly to the development of the
Therapeutics Division and its programmes. Fiona will continue to work with the
Company through a transitionary period.

Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group commented:

"I am delighted that Chris will assume the full-time role of Head of Research
and Development. Chris brings deep oncology research and development expertise
combined with trans-Atlantic C-level experience from which the entire business
will benefit as we evolve from a research organisation to one led by a strong
clinical focus.

"The outstanding safety data from the AVA6000 clinical study that we recently
presented validates the pre|CISION™ platform's ability to deliver cancer
drugs specifically to the tumour microenvironment. This opens up tremendous
opportunities to develop truly innovative cancer medicines that improve
outcomes for patients and grow shareholder value.

"The Board and I would like to thank Fiona for her outstanding contribution
over the past few years. She has added significant value to the therapeutic
programmes and played a key role in building the Therapeutic Division's
operations. We all wish her the very best in her future endeavours."

Dr Christina Coughlin, commented:

"I have dedicated my career to leading the development of transformative and
novel therapies for the treatment of patients with cancer.

"The pipeline of cancer therapies at Avacta represents the next frontier in
oncology innovation and includes the potential to help patients across
multiple diseases, leveraging the tumour microenvironment as a target.

"I am thrilled to join the team during such a pivotal time for the company as
we move our game-changing pipeline forward for the benefit of patients."

-Ends-

 

 

For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:

 

 Avacta Group plc                                                          Tel: +44 (0) 1904 21 7070

 Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer                                   www.avacta.com (http://www.avacta.com)

 Tony Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer

 Michael Vinegrad, Group Communications Director

 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker)                   Tel: +44 (0) 207 710 7600

 Nicholas Moore / Nick Adams / Samira Essebiyea / Nick Harland / William   www.stifel.com (http://www.stifel.com/)
 Palmer-Brown

 Peel Hunt (Joint Broker)                                                  Tel: +44 (0) 207 418 8900

 James Steel / Chris Golden / Patrick Birkholm                             www.peelhunt.com (http://www.peelhunt.com)

 ICR Consilium (Media and IR)                                              avacta@consilium-comms.com (mailto:avacta@consilium-comms.com)

 Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson / Sukaina Virji

 

About Avacta Group plc - https://www.avacta.com (https://www.avacta.com/)

 

Avacta Group is a UK-based company focused on improving healthcare outcomes
through targeted cancer treatments and diagnostics.

 

Avacta has two divisions: an oncology biotech division harnessing proprietary
therapeutic platforms to develop novel, highly targeted cancer drugs, and a
diagnostics division, which is executing on an M&A led growth strategy to
create a full-spectrum diagnostics business focused on supporting healthcare
professionals and broadening access to testing. Avacta's two proprietary
platforms, Affimer® and pre|CISION™ underpin its cancer therapeutics whilst
the diagnostics division leverages the Affimer® platform to drive competitive
advantage in its markets.

 

The pre|CISION™ platform modifies chemotherapy to be activated only in the
tumour tissue, reducing systemic exposure and toxicity. This is achieved by
harnessing an enzyme called FAP which is highly upregulated in most solid
tumours compared with healthy tissues, turning chemotherapy into a "precision
medicine". The lead pre|CISION™ programme, AVA6000 a tumour activated form
of doxorubicin, is in Phase 1 studies and has shown dramatic improvement in
safety compared with standard doxorubicin, and early signs of clinical
activity.

 

Affimer® is a novel biologic platform which has significant technical and
commercial advantages compared with antibodies and is used both to develop
advanced immunotherapies and to improve the performance of immunodiagnostics.

 

With a balanced business and capital allocation model: a high-value oncology
pipeline supported by a revenue generating, fast-growing diagnostics business,
Avacta seeks to create long-term shareholder value alongside patient benefit.

 

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(https://avacta.com/investors/investor-news-email-alerts/)

 

 

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