Avacta Group
plc
("Avacta"
or "the Group" or "the Company")
Avacta Expands its Pipeline
with Two Novel Assets Developed Using its pre|CISION®
Platform
London, Oct. 17, 2024 - Avacta Group plc (AIM:
AVCT), a
life sciences company developing innovative targeted oncology
drugs, today
announces the addition of
two novel preclinical oncology assets, AVA6103 and AVA7100, to its
pipeline of pre|CISION®-enabled drug
conjugates.
Avacta is developing a portfolio
of pre|CISION® product candidates that are
designed to be activated specifically in the tumor
microenvironment, thereby enabling improved antitumor activity
while reducing systemic toxicities. The Company has developed a
pipeline of peptide drug conjugates, each of which is comprised of
an active antitumor drug (known as a payload) linked to the
pre|CISION® peptide, which is
cleaved only within the tumor by the action of Fibroblast
Activation Protein, or FAP.
The first of the two new programs is
AVA6103, a novel pre|CISION®-enabled peptide drug
conjugate comprised of the pre|CISION®
peptide linked to exatecan, the most potent
topoisomerase I inhibitor in clinical development. This PDC is
designed to deliver the exatecan payload directly to tumors while limiting the exposure of the released
payload in normal tissues. Exatecan has demonstrated clinical
activity in breast, gastric, lung and pancreatic cancers; however,
it is associated with severe dose-limiting toxicities and a short
half-life in patients that led to discontinuation of its
monotherapy development. More recently, this payload has been
adapted for use in antibody drug conjugates and other approaches.
AVA6103 is designed to enable patients to obtain the therapeutic
benefit associated with exatecan, while limiting the systemic
exposure associated with its poor tolerability.
The second program is AVA7100, a
pre|CISION®-enabled Affimer® drug conjugate,
a new class of therapies being developed by Avacta with potential
applications in a variety of cancer types, including those with
lower levels of FAP in the tumor. Affimer®
molecules are small proteins that are engineered
to bind to a target molecule in the same way that an antibody does,
but with several advantages, including smaller molecule size and
greater binding affinity. AVA7100 consists
of a novel FAP-Affimer conjugated to a pre|CISION-peptide linker
with multiple options for the payload.
Christina Coughlin, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of
Avacta, commented: "The expansion of
our pipeline highlights the broad potential of our proprietary
pre|CISION® technology to deliver multiple potent
oncology therapeutics directly into difficult-to-treat tumors,
while sparing healthy tissues. These novel assets have been
carefully selected to complement our existing portfolio, by
targeting cancers with high unmet need and having clear development
strategies. We look forward to sharing data across our programs in
the near future."
Further details of these programs
will be released in conjunction with the Company's two
presentations at the EORTC-NCI-AACR
Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics being held
in Barcelona from October 23-25, 2024. The platform and
the pipeline will be presented at the investor and analyst R&D
Spotlight Event: Focus on pre|CISION®, in London on
October 30, 2024.
For
further information from Avacta Group plc, please
contact:
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 AVA6000
The lead
pre|CISION® program AVA6000, a peptide drug conjugate form of doxorubicin,
is in Phase 1 studies. It has shown an improvement in safety and
tolerability in clinical trials to date compared with standard
doxorubicin and preliminary signs of clinical activity in multiple
patients.To register for news alerts by email go
to https://avacta.com/investors/investor-news-email-alerts/
About Avacta Group plc: https://avacta.com/
Avacta Group is a UK-based
life sciences company focused on improving healthcare outcomes
through targeted cancer treatments and diagnostics. Its clinical
stage oncology biotech division Avacta Therapeutics is harnessing
the proprietary pre|CISION® platform technology to develop
novel, highly targeted cancer drugs. Avacta
Diagnostics focuses on supporting healthcare professionals and
broadening access to diagnostics. To register for news alerts by
email go to https://avacta.com/investors/investor-news-email-alerts/