London Therapeutics headquarters established
11 May 2022
Avacta Group plc
("Avacta" or "the Group" or "the Company")
Avacta establishes new Therapeutics headquarters at
Scale Space, Imperial College White City Campus
Relocation brings Avacta's Therapeutics research and development teams together in a single space to accelerate Avacta's therapeutic programmes into the clinic
Scale Space and Imperial College's White City Campus provides access to world class facilities, a vibrant life sciences network and access to the best talent for a growing biotechnology company
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage oncology drug company developing innovative cancer therapies and powerful diagnostics based on its proprietary pre|CISION™ and Affimer® platforms, announces that the Company has relocated its Therapeutics division to a new headquarters at Scale Space, in Imperial College's White City Campus, London.
The new headquarters, which will see Avacta be part of a life science cluster at the west London site, brings together its research and development teams to support the continued growth of the Company's pre-clinical and clinical development pipelines of innovative cancer therapies. The move follows the transition of AVA6000, the Company's lead pre|CISIONTM targeted chemotherapy programme and a tumour activated form of doxorubicin, into the clinic in August 2021.
Opened in July 2020 as a joint venture between Blenheim Chalcot, the UK's leading digital venture builder, and Imperial College London, Scale Space is part of the broader White City Innovation District. White City is currently home to over 140 companies across a broad range of industries including pharmaceutical and biotech.
Dr Fiona McLaughlin, Chief Scientific Officer of Avacta, commented:
"This move is the result of a clear vision to bring together the research and development teams into one hub to facilitate the translation of our in-house research from bench to bedside. We are now at the heart of the innovative White City community in London, readily accessible to our collaborators around the world and poised to take Avacta to the next level in its evolution as a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company."
Neil Bell, Chief Development Officer of Avacta, commented:
"The relocation of Avacta's Therapeutics division to Scale Space in the heart of Imperial College's White City Campus is a transformative milestone for our business, as we take the next steps towards developing our innovative oncology pipeline and improving our ability to bring these innovative therapies through to patients. This new location gives Avacta access to world class facilities, increased opportunities for collaboration and access to a significant talent pool to take the business forward."
Michael Holmes, CEO of Scale Space commented:
"We are delighted to partner with Avacta in the next phase of their growth - the fact that such an innovative organisation has chosen Scale Space, White City, ahead of any other location they could have picked, is another clear indicator that the White City Innovation District is one of the best locations for businesses looking to immerse themselves in a thriving ecosystem and attract top tier talent to innovate and scale."
- ENDS -
For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:
|
Avacta Group plc Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer Tony Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer Michael Vinegrad, Group Communications Director |
Tel: +44 (0) 844 414 0452 |
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Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nomad and Broker) Nicholas Moore / Nick Adams / Fred Walsh / Nicholas Harland |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 710 7600 |
|
FTI Consulting (Financial Media and IR) Simon Conway / Alex Shaw / George Kendrick |
Tel: +44(0) 203 727 1000 |
|
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media) Esmé Walters |
Tel: +44 (0)7377 543 244 esme.walters@zymecommunications.com
|
About Avacta Group plc - https://www.avacta.com
Avacta Group is developing novel cancer immunotherapies and powerful diagnostics based on its two proprietary platforms - Affimer® biologics and pre|CISION™ tumour targeted chemotherapies.
The Affimer® platform is an alternative to antibodies and is derived from a small human protein. Affimer® technology has been designed to address many of the negative issues of antibodies, principally: the time taken to generate new antibodies, the reliance on an animal's immune response; poor specificity in many cases; in addition to, the complexity and high cost of manufacture. Despite these shortcomings, antibodies currently dominate markets, such as diagnostics and therapeutics, which are worth in excess of $100bn.
Avacta's pre|CISION™ targeted chemotherapy platform is designed to selectively release active chemotherapy in FAP rich tumour tissue to limit the systemic exposure that causes damage to healthy tissues, and thereby aims to improve the overall safety and therapeutic potential of these powerful anti-cancer treatments.
The Avacta Group comprises two divisions: The therapeutics development activities are based in London and Cambridge, UK and a separate diagnostics business unit is based in Wetherby, UK. The Group is generating near-term revenues from Affimer® reagents for diagnostics, bioprocessing and research.
Avacta's Diagnostics Division is developing an in-house pipeline of Affimer-based diagnostic assays, including the AffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 Lateral Flow Rapid Antigen Test, and works with partners world-wide to develop bespoke Affimer® reagents for third party products.
Avacta's Therapeutics Division is working to generate more tolerable and durable treatments for oncology patients who do not respond to existing therapies. By combining its two proprietary platforms the Group is building a wholly owned pipeline of clinically differentiated cancer therapies. In 2021 Avacta transitioned to become a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, when it commenced a phase I trial in patients with locally advanced or metastatic selected solid tumours. The study was a first-in-human, open label, dose-escalation and expansion study of the Group's lead pre|CISION™ prodrug, AVA6000 (a pro-doxorubicin).
Avacta has established drug development partnerships with pharma and biotech, including a multi-target deal with LG Chem worth up to $400m, a joint venture in South Korea with Daewoong Pharmaceutical focused on cell and gene therapies incorporating Affimer® immune-modulators and a recent license agreement with Point Biopharma for them to develop radiopharmaceuticals based on the pre|CISION™ platform.
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