Key information

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Our Mission

Our Mission is to improve patients’ lives and grow shareholder value by developing novel cancer therapies and powerful diagnostics using our proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms.

Investment Opportunity

  • Avacta has two divisions: A 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.
  • The Therapeutics Division is leveraging Avacta’s proprietary technologies to develop innovative oncology drugs that transform treatment outcomes to improve cancer patients’ lives.
  • The Diagnostics Division is focused on supporting healthcare professionals and broadening access to testing.

Technology platforms

Avacta has two proprietary platform technologies – the Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms – which are being used to deliver a robust portfolio of products that address multi-billion dollar markets.

  • The pre|CISION™ platform is a highly specific substrate for fibroblast activation protein (FAP) which is highly upregulated in most solid tumours compared with healthy tissues. The pre|CISION platform harnesses this tumour specific protease to activate pre|CISION peptide drug conjugates and pre|CISION antibody drug conjugates in the tumour microenvironment, reducing systemic exposure and toxicity, allowing dosing to be optimised to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
  • Affimer® molecules are engineered alternatives to antibodies that have significant competitive advantages including size, stability, versatility, rapid development and ease of production.

Therapeutics Division

  • Avacta Therapeutics’ strategy is to build an in-house pipeline of first-in-class and best-in-class targeted cancer therapies and to accelerate the development of its platform technologies by working with partners.
  • 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 patients with high FAP tumors that are sensitive to anthracyclines.
  • Data from the Phase I trial for the first candidate, AVA6000, confirms the pre|CISIONTM platform’s ability to target a toxin to the tumour microenvironment and transform the safety profile of such cancer therapies.
  • The second pre|CISION™tumour-targeted chemotherapy candidate for development was announced in January 2022 and is a proteasome inhibitor referred to as AVA3996.
  • Preclinical data regarding AVA3996, the second pre|CISION™ programme, a tumour targeted proteasome inhibitor, were presented at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting in April, and at AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in October along with data from other research programmes.
  • Additional pre|CISIONTM targeted cancer therapies are being developed in the pre-clinical pipeline and have not yet been publicly disclosed.
  • There is also significant longer-term potential to combine Avacta’s two platforms to create next generation targeted ‘drug conjugate’ cancer treatments.
  • AffyXell Therapeutics (“AffyXell”), the joint venture between Avacta and Daewoong Pharmaceutical (“Daewoong”) continued to progress well with the triggering of a second milestone payment. This resulted in an increase in Avacta’s shareholding in AffyXell to approximately 25%.
  • The growing body of clinical and pre-clinical data validating the pre|CISIONTM platform has supported an acceleration in the Group’s commercial activities including the appointment of Dr Simon Bennett as Chief Business Officer of the Therapeutics Division.

Diagnostics Division

  • Avacta’s Diagnostics Division completed the acquisition of Belgium-based Coris Bioconcept SRL, a developer and manufacturer of rapid tests focused on infectious diseases, on 1 June 2023 for an upfront consideration of £7.3 million with an earnout based on future business performance of up to £3.0 million payable in cash, adding a broad range of marketed professional-use rapid tests to the Division.
  • The Diagnostics Division, which also includes Launch Diagnostics, a leading UK IVD distributor that was acquired in October 2022, reports revenue of £21.2 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of £1.96 million.
  • The Group’s strategy is to divest the Diagnostics Division to create a pure-play oncology biopharmaceutical company in a manner which maximises value and strategic benefits for shareholders.

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.

Significant Shareholdings


Current significant shareholders are as follows:

There are currently no individually significant shareholders holding in excess of 3%.

As at 2nd September 2024, the company has 362,159,730 ordinary shares of 10p each in issue.

0.9% of the ordinary shares of the Company are not held in public hands.

Avacta Group has not applied or agreed to have any of its securities (including its AIM securities) admitted or traded on any other exchanges or trading platforms.

There are no restrictions on the transfer of Avacta Group plc’s AIM securities.

Avacta Group plc is subject to the UK City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.

Avacta Group plc is incorporated in the United Kingdom and its principal place of operation is the United Kingdom.

This information was last updated on 2nd September 2024.

Directors

Dr Christina Coughlin
Dr Trevor Nicholls
Mr Paul Fry
Dr Mark Goldberg
Mr Shaun Chilton
Ms Darlene Deptula-Hicks

Advisors

Broker and NOMAD – Peel Hunt, 100 Liverpool Street, London, EC2M 2AT.
Auditor – BDO LLP, Newton House, Cambridge Business Park, Cambridge, CB4 0WZ
Solicitor – Walker Morris, 33 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL
Registrar – Link Group, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL. www.signalshares.com
Investor and Media Relations – Consilium Strategic Communications, 85 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7NQ. www.consilium-comms.com