REG - Avacta Group PLC - Avacta to sell Launch Diagnostics

AvactaAnnouncement

07/03/2025 07:45

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RNS Number : 8027Z  Avacta Group PLC  07 March 2025

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF
THE UK VERSION OF REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF UK LAW BY
VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE
PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS
INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

 

Avacta Announces Agreement to Sell Launch Diagnostics and a Corporate Update

 

LONDON AND PHILADELPHIA - 07 March 2025 - Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT, 'the
Company'), a life sciences company developing next generation peptide drug
conjugates (PDC) targeting powerful anti-tumor payloads directly to the tumor,
announces that it has agreed to sell Launch Diagnostics Holdings Limited
("Launch Diagnostics") and its subsidiaries, its UK-based and largest
diagnostics unit, for £12.9 million in cash to Duomed Belgium NV, a
subsidiary of Palex Healthcare Group S.L.U. Completion of the sale is expected
by the end of April 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. The sale
proceeds will be used to further Avacta's pre|CISION(®) platform.

 

This disposal is a significant step towards delivering a key Board objective
of the Company becoming a pure-play biotechnology company. In order to
complete the divestment of its diagnostics business operations, Avacta is also
in discussions regarding the sale of its remaining and much smaller
Belgian-headquartered diagnostics unit, Coris BioConcept SRL.

 

Launch Diagnostics delivered audited revenues of £17.9 million and profit
after tax of £0.38 million in the year ended 31 December 2023 and has traded
in line with the Board's expectations during the year ended 31 December 2024.
As at 30 June 2024 Launch Diagnostics had unaudited net assets of £13.65
million.

 

Following the divestment of Launch Diagnostics, the Company's cash runway will
extend into Q1 2026.

 

In the year ending 31 December 2025, the Group expects to report a non-cash
loss as a result of this disposal.

 

 

Shaun Chilton, Non-Executive Chairman commented:

 

"The diversification into diagnostics over the last two years has been very
disappointing. However, this disposal is a critical and necessary step forward
in our corporate strategy to become a pure-play therapeutics company.

 

"This disposal, which followed an extensive auction process, realizes cash to
support our growing R&D investment program and also enables the management
to focus on the development of our unique proprietary pre|CISION(®)
technology platform."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate Update

Avacta Therapeutics has made strong progress, presenting the R&D pipeline,
adding critical experience to the management team, formalizing the strategic
partnership with Tempus and achieving previously stated development
milestones.

AVA6000

The Company has today also separately announced an update on its lead program,
AVA6000, the first clinical stage asset which is a pre|CISION(®)-enabled form
of doxorubicin.

 

Initial proof of concept data with AVA6000 in the clinic have demonstrated the
broad potential of the pre|CISION(®) platform and data from our strategic
collaboration with Tempus AI have demonstrated the broad addressable patient
populations that could be targeted with pre|CISION(®)-enabled medicines.

 

Importantly, in the clinic AVA6000 has demonstrated the profile of a
pre|CISION(®) medicine with three key findings: (1) a significant reduction
in the observed toxicities associated with conventional doxorubicin, (2) the
capacity to shrink tumors with multiple, durable responses observed in
different disease settings with sensitivity to doxorubicin and (3) the
profound concentration of the active payload (doxorubicin) in the tumor versus
the plasma. Together, these findings in the clinic underscore the potential
for the next assets in the pipeline to be highly differentiated and have
potential for enhanced activity compared with traditional oncology
therapeutics.

 

AVA6103

AVA6103, the Company's second program, is a pre|CISION(®)-enabled PDC
comprised of the pre|CISION peptide linked to exatecan, the most potent
topoisomerase I (topo I) inhibitor in clinical development. The AVA6103
program has completed candidate selection and is in the pre-IND preparation
stage with GMP manufacturing ongoing for the Phase 1 trial. The Phase 1 trial
of AVA6103 is anticipated to begin early in 2026.

 

The Company has seen a dramatic increase in therapeutic index in preclinical
models, suggesting that AVA6103 could have an unprecedented safety profile in
the clinic. AVA6103 has the potential to treat hundreds of thousands of
patients with the broad use of the topo I drug class and over 90% of solid
tumors expressing FAP.

 

Other strategic initiatives

The Company continues to explore the possibility of attaining a dual listing
on NASDAQ.  Any definitive decision on if or when to dual list on NASDAQ will
depend on a range of factors including the Group's clinical data package, SEC
approval and wider market conditions. The Board continues to see a NASDAQ dual
listing as a key strategic option for the Company and also continues to
explore all available pathways to provide optionality for financing its
clinical therapeutics program over the longer term.

 

 

-Ends-

 

For further information from Avacta, please contact:

 

 Avacta Group plc                                           www.avacta.com (http://www.avacta.com/)

 Michael Vinegrad, Group Communications

 Director

 Peel Hunt (Nomad and Broker)

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

 Panmure Liberum (Joint Broker)                             www.panmureliberum.com (http://www.panmureliberum.com)

 Emma Earl / Will Goode / Mark Rogers

 ICR Healthcare

 Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson / Stephanie Cuthbert   avacta@icrhealthcare.com (mailto:avacta@icrhealthcare.com)

 Investor Contact

 Renee Leck                                                 renee@thrustsc.com (mailto:renee@thrustsc.com)

 THRUST Strategic Communications

 Media Contact

 Carly Scaduto                                              Carly@carlyscadutoconsulting.com

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About Avacta - www.avacta.com
(https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avacta.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7CChris.Coughlin%40avacta.com%7Ce5faa8dfbe3d49fc56f808dd35799958%7C64d2165ff9e04869bc73bfe4fc4fa9ab%7C0%7C0%7C638725518576703790%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=qWTC74zmTzjVQqwaFiKeiHUwMY5RUlsvb7C%2BkLRahGU%3D&reserved=0)

Avacta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage life sciences company expanding the
reach of highly potent cancer therapies with the pre|CISION(®) platform.
pre|CISION(®) is a proprietary payload delivery system based on a
tumor-specific protease (fibroblast activation protein or FAP) that is
designed to concentrate highly potent payloads in the tumor microenvironment
while sparing normal tissues. Our innovative pipeline consists of
pre|CISION(®) peptide drug conjugates (PDC) or Affimer(®) drug conjugates
(AffDC) that leverage the tumor-specific release mechanism, providing unique
benefits over traditional antibody drug conjugates.

 

About the pre|CISION(®) Platform

The pre|CISION(®) platform comprises an anticancer payload conjugated to a
proprietary peptide that is a highly specific substrate for fibroblast
activation protein (FAP) which is upregulated in most solid tumors compared
with healthy tissues. The pre|CISION(®) platform harnesses this tumor
specific protease to cleave pre|CISION(®) peptide drug conjugates and
pre|CISION(®) antibody/Affimer(®) drug conjugates in the tumor
microenvironment, thus releasing active payload in the tumor and reducing
systemic exposure and toxicity, allowing dosing to be optimized to deliver the
best outcomes for patients.

 

About Palex Healthcare Group S.L.U - palexhealth.com
(https://www.palexhealth.com/)

Palex is the European benchmark for advanced solutions in the healthcare
sector, with over 70 years of experience providing tailored technological
innovations to healthcare professionals and researchers. Its purpose is to
improve lives by introducing cutting-edge technology to hospitals,
laboratories, and research centers. Palex's approach ranges from selecting
state-of-the-art products to offering technical support and specialized
training for healthcare and research professionals. The company operates
across various fields, including surgery, diagnostics, laboratory and critical
care, ensuring solutions adapted to each client's needs. With a presence in
multiple countries, Palex remains strongly committed to quality, innovation,
and sustainability in the healthcare sector. Through its own brands and
strategic partnerships with internationally renowned manufacturers, Palex
positions itself as a key partner in the evolution of the medical-scientific
sector, contributing to improved efficiency and safety in healthcare.

 

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