REG - Avacta Group PLC - Avacta data AACR underline AVA6103 profile

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RNS Number : 2134B  Avacta Group PLC  21 April 2026

 

Avacta data at AACR 2026 underline favorable profile of AVA6103 and advantages
of pre|CISION(®) delivery platform

 

Presentation of additional analyses from FAP-Exd (AVA6103) study shows robust
activity in PDX models with low FAP expression and more favorable kinetic
profile compared to the marketed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Enhertu(®)

 

Dual payload capability of the pre|CISION platform showcased with first in
vivo exposure and efficacy data

 

LONDON and PHILADELPHIA - April 21, 2026 - Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT,
"the Company", "Avacta"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company
developing pre|CISION(®), a tumor-activated oncology delivery platform, is
giving two presentations today at the American Association for Cancer Research
(AACR) Annual Meeting 2026.  These presentations include the first in vivo
efficacy and exposure pharmacology for the pre|CISION(®) dual payload
technology program and updated pharmacology and preclinical exposure data
analyses highlighting the favorable delivery profile of AVA6103 (FAP-EXd), its
second clinical candidate, which has recently entered Phase 1 development.
Updates to the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial are also being presented.

 

Christina Coughlin, CEO of Avacta, commented:

 

"The data being presented at AACR underline the potential of our
pre|CISION(®) technology and AVA6103 to make a considerable difference to
cancer patients. These observations could significantly increase the
probability of success with AVA6103, given both the ability of FAP-Exd to
deliver more payload selectively to the tumor in the preclinical setting, and
the success of Enhertu(®) in the clinic. The FOCUS-01 Phase 1 clinical trial
of AVA6103, now underway in the US, is designed to demonstrate the benefits of
pre|CISION(®) in unlocking the full potential of exatecan while minimizing
systemic toxicity.

 

Furthermore, we have shown how pre|CISION(®) delivers a therapeutically
relevant combination of payloads specifically to the tumor microenvironment
while reducing systemic dose-limiting toxicities, broadening its utility in
the delivery of novel medicines.  The dual delivery mechanism of
pre|CISION(®) shows its potential to dramatically increase the therapeutic
window and reduce systemic toxicities, offering improved outcomes for patients
with cancer."

 

 

Details of the Two Presentations:

 

AVA6103 (FAP-EXd) Preclinical and Clinical Trial in Progress Highlights (Rink,
C. et al.)

 

This presentation includes updated preclinical data from the Company's second
clinical candidate, AVA6103, a novel FAP-activated
pre|CISION(®) peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) delivering the topoisomerase I
inhibitor (TOP1i) exatecan directly to the tumor-stroma interface, as well as
details of the ongoing FOCUS-01 Phase 1 trial of this agent.

 

The data demonstrate that AVA6103 has robust activity in multiple
patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models with FAP levels ranging from very low
to high, suggesting excellent antitumor effects even at the lowest levels of
FAP expression in stromal cells only.  This presentation also includes a data
analysis comparing pre|CISION(®) FAP-cleavable payload delivery with that of
the leading marketed ADC Enhertu(®) (an AstraZeneca/Daiichi Sankyo product).

 

The data analysis used a synthetic comparator arm that was generated using AI
to recreate a published AstraZeneca data set 1  and compare to experimental
data generated with AVA6103 in a similar experimental design using a FAP-high
animal model with two drugs using similar payloads (exatecan and deruxtecan).
It demonstrated three key differences in the pharmacokinetics (PK) of the
payload: more rapid tumor penetration and payload release with AVA6103, tumor
C(max) of more than one log higher with AVA6103, and Tumor Selectivity Index
(TSI: AUC(tumor) / AUC(plasma)) three times higher with AVA6103.

 

AVA6103 has recently entered the clinic, with the first patient receiving
treatment in the FOCUS-01 study in March. FOCUS-01 (NCT07454642
(https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07454642?term=AVA6103&viewType=Card&rank=1)
) is a multicenter, open‑label Phase 1 clinical trial of AVA6103 in adults
with selected advanced cancers, and the initial clinical data readout from the
study is anticipated later this year. Based on favorable preclinical activity
and biomarker readouts from the strategic collaboration with Tempus, two
indications have been added to the trial: colorectal cancer (CRC) and hormone
receptor-positive breast cancer (HR+ BC)

 

Abstract Number and Title: Abstract #5846, AVA6103 is a FAP-enabled
pre|CISION(®) peptide-drug conjugate delivering sustained release of exatecan
in the tumor microenvironment with potent antitumor activity.

Poster number and Location: 5846, Section 17, Board 15

Session: Tumor Microenvironment, Multi-specifics, and Immunomodulation

 

The pre|CISION(® )dual payload technology (AVA6207) update (Juskaite, V. et
al.)

 

This presentation includes the description of how pre|CISION(®) delivers a
therapeutically relevant combination of payloads specifically to the tumor
microenvironment while reducing systemic dose-limiting toxicities, broadening
its utility in the delivery of novel combinations of medicines.

 

The AVA6207 dual payload is designed to simultaneously release a TOP1i and a
DNA Damage Repair (DDR) inhibitor by FAP cleavage, resulting in synthetic
lethality in two genetic models of TOP1i resistance: tumor cells harboring
either (1) ATM-deficiency or (2) loss of SLFN11. These studies demonstrate the
ability of AVA6207 to overcome key mechanisms of TOP1i resistance and mediate
synergistic tumor cell killing.

 

The first in vivo data with this novel combination mechanism are presented,
with tumor and plasma pharmacokinetic studies demonstrating the robust
tumor-selective release of both payloads with a highly potent TSI.  In
addition to the robust exposure data, antitumor efficacy is demonstrated in a
patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model of HER2+ gastric cancer with low FAP
expression with optimal activity of AVA6207 over the HER2-targeted TOP1i ADC
(Enhertu(®))

 

Abstract Number and Title: Abstract #5656, Characterization and translational
development of novel pre|CISION(®) technology compounds delivering
complementary dual payloads to the tumor microenvironment following FAP
cleavage

 

Session: Antibody-Drug Conjugates and Linker Engineering 4

Section: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics

 

 

(Enhertu is a registered trademark of Asta Zeneca and Daichii Sankyo)

 

-Ends-

 

For further information from Avacta, please contact:

 

 Avacta Group plc                                   https://avacta.com/ (https://avacta.com/)

 Christina Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer        via Cohesion Bureau

 Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser)          www.strandhanson.co.uk (http://www.strandhanson.co.uk)

 James Harris / Chris Raggett / James Dance

 Zeus (Broker)                                      www.zeuscapital.co.uk (http://www.zeuscapital.co.uk)

 James Hornigold / George Duxberry / Dominic King

 Cohesion Bureau                                    avacta@cohesionbureau.com (mailto:avacta@cohesionbureau.com)

 Communications / Media / Investors

 Richard Jarvis

 

About Avacta - https://avacta.com/ (https://avacta.com/)

Avacta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage life sciences company expanding the
reach of highly potent cancer therapies through its proprietary pre|CISION®
platform. pre|CISION® is a 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. Avacta's innovative pre|CISION® peptide drug conjugates (PDC)
are a novel entry to the XDC drug class, leveraging the success of antibody
drug conjugates with alternative methods of delivery beyond antibodies.

 

Our pre|CISION® PDCs leverage this tumor-specific release mechanism to
provide unique benefits over traditional antibody drug conjugates, releasing
active payload in the tumor and reducing systemic exposure and toxicity which
enables dosing to be optimized to deliver the best outcomes for patients. The
lead clinical program is faridoxorubicin (AVA6000), a Gen One FAP-enabled
pre|CISION® version of doxorubicin that delivers the payload directly in the
tumor with limited peripheral blood exposure and has demonstrated preliminary
activity in tumor types sensitive to doxorubicin including salivary gland
cancer and soft tissue sarcoma.

 

About AVA6103 (FAP-Exd)

 

AVA6103 is the second clinical candidate and is based on the innovative
pre|CISION(®) sustained release mechanism that provides for prolonged release
of payload directly in the tumor, minimizing systemic exposure.  AVA6103 is
being evaluated in the FOCUS-01 Phase 1 trial (FAP-Exd in Oncologic Cancers
with Unmet needS). Preclinical data suggest this approach has optimized
payload delivery with a high intratumoral concentration and prolonged exposure
of released payload in the tumor, coupled with limited systemic exposure to
the released payload.

 

The FOCUS-01 Clinical Trial

The Phase 1a dose escalation portion of the FOCUS-01 clinical trial will
evaluate the safety, tumor and plasma pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and
preliminary efficacy of AVA6103 in patients with one of six solid tumors in
the advanced setting: pancreatic cancer, cervical and vulvar cancer, gastric
and gastroesophageal junction cancers, small cell lung cancer, colorectal
cancer and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

The selection of the six tumor types for the dose escalation portion of the
trial was based on an AI approach investigating the co-expression of a gene
that can predict sensitivity to the topoisomerase 1 inhibition mechanism
(SLFN11) and FAP as part of the Company's strategic collaboration with Tempus
AI. The data mining team ranked solid tumor indications based on the gene
expression profiles to predict those cancer indications with the highest
probability of success.

Further information on the study can be found on clinicaltrials.gov
(https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07454642?term=AVA6103&viewType=Card&rank=1)
, under study number NCT07454642.

 1  Vasalou C, et al. Quantitative evaluation of trastuzumab deruxtecan
pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in mouse models of varying degrees of
HER2 expression. CPT Pharmacometrics Syst Pharmacol. 2024 (6):994-1005. doi:
10.1002/psp4.13133 (AZ nonclinical data)

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