REG - Avacta Group PLC - Second pre|CISION Pro-drug Candidate Selected

AvactaAnnouncement

18/01/2022 07:05

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RNS Number : 7440Y  Avacta Group PLC  18 January 2022

 

18 January 2022

 

Avacta Group plc

 

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

 

Avacta Selects Second pre|CISION(TM) Pro-drug Candidate for Development

 

Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company
developing innovative cancer therapies and powerful diagnostics based on its
proprietary Affimer(®) and pre|CISION™ platforms announces that the next
pre|CISION(TM) drug candidate, AVA3996, has been selected for pre-clinical
development with a view to a first-in-human Phase I clinical trial beginning
in the second half of 2023.

 

Avacta's pre|CISION(TM) chemistry is used to modify chemotherapy drugs to
render them inactive in the circulation until they enter the tumour
micro-environment where they are activated by an enzyme called fibroblast
activation protein α (FAP). This enzyme is in high abundance in most solid
tumours but, crucially, not in healthy tissues. The pre|CISION(TM) platform
therefore offers a way to reduce systemic exposure to, and improve the safety
of, these effective and affordable cancer drugs. In this way the
pre|CISION(TM) platform is intended to increase the tolerability of
chemotherapies and achieve better clinical outcomes for patients.

 

AVA3996 is a FAP-targeted pre|CISION(TM) proteasome inhibitor. Proteasome
inhibitors have a market that is expected to grow to $2.3bn by 2026 1 ,
despite limited regulatory approvals of other molecules in this class due to
their serious toxicities. AVA3996 has been designed to reduce these systemic
toxicities by targeting the release of the proteasome inhibitor to FAP-rich
tumour tissues.

 

Following a review of efficacy studies in several liquid and solid tumour
models, safety studies and a review of manufacturability, AVA3996 has been
selected as a candidate for pre-clinical development with the aim of a
Clinical Trial Authorisation (CTA) and/or Investigational New Drug (IND)
filing in the first half of 2023 and dosing of the first patient later in the
year.

 

Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group, commented:

"We are excited by the early pre-clinical data for AVA3996, the second of
Avacta's pre|CISION(TM) pro-drugs following on from AVA6000. The
pre|CISION(TM) platform has the potential to generate a significant pipeline
of safer, better tolerated chemotherapies to treat a wide range of cancers. It
represents a major commercial opportunity and the principal value driver for
the Group.

 

"If AVA3996 is shown to have a significantly improved safety profile in the
clinic, then not only could it provide a better tolerated treatment for
multiple myeloma, but it has the potential to be the first proteasome
inhibitor to be suitable for treating solid tumours, thereby significantly
increasing the market opportunity."

 

ENDS

 

For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:

 

 Avacta Group plc                                              Tel: +44 (0) 844 414 0452

 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 Broker)             Tel: +44 (0) 207 710 7600

 Nicholas Moore / Nick Adams / Fred Walsh / Nicholas Harland   www.stifel.com (http://www.stifel.com/)

 FTI Consulting (Financial Media and IR)                       Tel: +44(0) 203 727 1000

 Simon Conway / Alex Shaw                                      Avacta.LS@fticonsulting.com (mailto:Avacta.LS@fticonsulting.com)

 Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)                Tel: +44 (0)7891 477 378

 Lily Jeffery                                                  lily.jeffery@zymecommunications.com

                                                             (mailto:katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com)

 

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

 

Avacta Group is developing novel cancer immunotherapies and powerful
diagnostics based on its two proprietary platforms - Affimer(®) biologics and
pre|CISION™ tumour targeted chemotherapies.

 

The Affimer(®) platform is an alternative to antibodies derived from a small
human protein. Despite their shortcomings, antibodies currently dominate
markets, such as diagnostics and therapeutics, worth in excess of $100bn.
Affimer technology has been designed to address many of these negative
performance issues, principally: the time taken to generate new antibodies and
the reliance on an animal's immune response; poor specificity in many cases;
their large size, complexity and high cost of manufacture.

 

Avacta's pre|CISION™ targeted chemotherapy platform releases active
chemotherapy in the tumour, which limits the systemic exposure that causes
damage to healthy tissues, and thereby improves the overall safety and
therapeutic potential of these powerful anti-cancer treatments.

 

The Group comprises two divisions: The therapeutics development activities are
based in London and Cambridge, UK and the Group is generating near-term
revenues from Affimer reagents for diagnostics, bioprocessing and research,
through a separate diagnostics business unit based in Wetherby, UK.

 

Avacta's Diagnostics Division is developing an in-house pipeline of
Affimer-based diagnostic assays, including the AffiDX(®) SARS-CoV-2 Lateral
Flow Rapid Antigen Test, and works with partners world-wide to develop bespoke
Affimer(®) reagents for third party products.

 

Avacta's Therapeutics Division is working to deliver a more tolerable and
durable treatment response for oncology patients who do not respond to
existing immunotherapies. By combining its two proprietary platforms the Group
is building a wholly owned pipeline of clinically differentiated cancer
therapies, aiming to extend the therapeutic benefits to all cancer patients.
In 2021 Avacta transitioned to become a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company, commencing a phase I first-in-human, open label, dose-escalation and
expansion study of AVA6000, a pro-doxorubicin, the Group's lead pre|CISION™
prodrug, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic selected solid
tumours.

 

Avacta has established drug development partnerships with pharma and biotech,
including a research collaboration with ModernaTX, Inc. (formerly Moderna
Therapeutics Inc.), a multi-target deal with LG Chem worth up to $400m, a
joint venture in South Korea with Daewoong Pharmaceutical focused on cell and
gene therapies incorporating Affimer immune-modulators and a collaboration
with Point Biopharma to develop radiopharmaceuticals based on the
pre|CISION™ platform. Avacta continues to actively seek to license its
proprietary platforms in a range of therapeutic areas.

 

To register for news alerts by email go
to www.avacta.com/investor-news-email-alerts
(http://www.avacta.com/investor-news-email-alerts)

 

 1  https://www.expertmarketresearch.com/reports/proteasome-inhibitors-market

 

 

 

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