About Avacta
Avacta Group is a UK-based life sciences company focused on improving healthcare outcomes through targeted cancer treatments and diagnostics.
Avacta has two divisions: an clinical stage oncology biotech division harnessing proprietary therapeutic platforms to develop novel, highly targeted cancer drugs, and a diagnostics division focused on supporting healthcare professionals.
Avacta has two proprietary platforms, pre|CISION™ and Affimer®.
The pre|CISION™ platform is a highly specific substrate for fibroblast activation protein (FAP) which is upregulated in most solid tumours compared with healthy tissues. The pre|CISIONTM platform harnesses this tumour specific protease to activate pre|CISIONTM peptide drug conjugates and pre|CISIONTM antibody/Affimer® drug conjugates in the tumour microenvironment, reducing systemic exposure and toxicity, allowing dosing to be optimised to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
The lead pre|CISION™ programme AVA6000, a peptide drug conjugate form of doxorubicin, is in Phase 1 studies. It has shown a dramatic improvement in safety and tolerability compared with standard doxorubicin and preliminary signs of clinical activity in multiple patients.
Affimer® is a novel biologic platform which has significant technical and commercial advantages compared with antibodies and can be used both to develop advanced immunotherapies and to improve the performance of immunodiagnostics.
Avacta’s Diagnostics Division comprises two business units – Launch Diagnostics and Coris Bioconcept. Launch Diagnostics is a well-established sales channels in the professional, centralised hospital laboratory testing market in the UK and France. Coris, based in Gembloux, Belgium, develops, manufactures and markets rapid diagnostic test kits, mainly lateral flow tests, for use by healthcare professionals. In the highly competitive diagnostics market, Avacta’s proprietary Affimer® platform has the potential to provide differentiated immunodiagnostic products to gain competitive advantage and grow market share.
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.
“What drives us all at Avacta is a desire to improve people’s health. In particular we are excited about the potential of pre|CISION to deliver safer, better tolerated and more effective targeted cancer treatments that improve outcomes for patients and their quality of life whilst on treatment.”