RCS - Avacta Group PLC - London Therapeutics headquarters established

AvactaAnnouncement

11/05/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 0147L  Avacta Group PLC  11 May 2022

11 May 2022

Avacta Group plc

 

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

 

Avacta establishes new Therapeutics headquarters at

Scale Space, Imperial College White City Campus

 

Relocation brings Avacta's Therapeutics research and development teams
together in a single space to accelerate Avacta's therapeutic programmes into
the clinic

 

Scale Space and Imperial College's White City Campus provides access to world
class facilities, a vibrant life sciences network and access to the best
talent for a growing biotechnology company

 

Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage oncology drug company
developing innovative cancer therapies and powerful diagnostics based on its
proprietary pre|CISION™ and Affimer(®) platforms, announces that the
Company has relocated its Therapeutics division to a new headquarters at Scale
Space, in Imperial College's White City Campus, London.

 

The new headquarters, which will see Avacta be part of a life science cluster
at the west London site, brings together its research and development teams to
support the continued growth of the Company's pre-clinical and clinical
development pipelines of innovative cancer therapies. The move follows the
transition of AVA6000, the Company's lead pre|CISION(TM) targeted chemotherapy
programme and a tumour activated form of doxorubicin, into the clinic in
August 2021.

 

Opened in July 2020 as a joint venture between Blenheim Chalcot, the UK's
leading digital venture builder, and Imperial College London, Scale Space is
part of the broader White City Innovation District. White City is currently
home to over 140 companies across a broad range of industries including
pharmaceutical and biotech.

 

Dr Fiona McLaughlin, Chief Scientific Officer of Avacta, commented:

"This move is the result of a clear vision to bring together the research and
development teams into one hub to facilitate the translation of our in-house
research from bench to bedside. We are now at the heart of the innovative
White City community in London, readily accessible to our collaborators around
the world and poised to take Avacta to the next level in its evolution as a
clinical stage biopharmaceutical company."

 

Neil Bell, Chief Development Officer of Avacta, commented:

"The relocation of Avacta's Therapeutics division to Scale Space in the heart
of Imperial College's White City Campus is a transformative milestone for our
business, as we take the next steps towards developing our innovative oncology
pipeline and improving our ability to bring these innovative therapies through
to patients. This new location gives Avacta access to world class facilities,
increased opportunities for collaboration and access to a significant talent
pool to take the business forward."

 

Michael Holmes, CEO of Scale Space commented:

"We are delighted to partner with Avacta in the next phase of their growth -
the fact that such an innovative organisation has chosen Scale Space, White
City, ahead of any other location they could have picked, is another clear
indicator that the White City Innovation District is one of the best locations
for businesses looking to immerse themselves in a thriving ecosystem and
attract top tier talent to innovate and scale."

 

- ENDS -

 

 

For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:

 Avacta Group plc

 Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer                       Tel: +44 (0) 844 414 0452

 Tony Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer                        www.avacta.com (http://www.avacta.com)

 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 / George Kendrick                    Avacta.LS@fticonsulting.com (mailto:Avacta.LS@fticonsulting.com)

 Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)                Tel: +44 (0)7377 543 244

 Esmé Walters                                                  esme.walters@zymecommunications.com
                                                               (mailto:lily.jeffery@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 and is derived from a
small human protein. Affimer(®) technology has been designed to address many
of the negative issues of antibodies, principally: the time taken to generate
new antibodies, the reliance on an animal's immune response; poor specificity
in many cases; in addition to, the complexity and high cost of manufacture.
Despite these shortcomings, antibodies currently dominate markets, such as
diagnostics and therapeutics, which are worth in excess of $100bn.

 

Avacta's pre|CISION™ targeted chemotherapy platform is designed to
selectively release active chemotherapy in FAP rich tumour tissue to limit the
systemic exposure that causes damage to healthy tissues, and thereby aims to
improve the overall safety and therapeutic potential of these powerful
anti-cancer treatments.

 

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

 

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 generate more tolerable and
durable treatments for oncology patients who do not respond to existing
therapies. By combining its two proprietary platforms the Group is building a
wholly owned pipeline of clinically differentiated cancer therapies. In 2021
Avacta transitioned to become a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, when
it commenced a phase I trial in patients with locally advanced or metastatic
selected solid tumours. The study was a first-in-human, open label,
dose-escalation and expansion study of the Group's lead pre|CISION™ prodrug,
AVA6000 (a pro-doxorubicin).

 

Avacta has established drug development partnerships with pharma and biotech,
including 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 recent license agreement
with Point Biopharma for them to develop radiopharmaceuticals based on the
pre|CISION™ platform.

 

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

 

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