Year-to-date business update ahead of AGM
Summary by AI BETAClose X
Year-to-date business update ahead of Annual General Meeting
LONDON and PHILADELPHIA - June 22, 2026 - Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT, "the Company", "Avacta"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing pre|CISION®, a tumor-activated oncology delivery platform, today provides a business update ahead of today's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, reviewing progress across the portfolio in the first half of 2026 and outlining upcoming milestones.
Christina Coughlin, CEO of Avacta, commented:
"Avacta has continued its strong progress in the first half of 2026, initiating the clinical program with our Gen Two product AVA6103 and presenting updated data on the Gen One AVA6000, which further validate our unique pre|CISION® technology. We believe this platform has the potential to significantly improve treatment options, and the data we are generating are reinforcing its value, both for cancer patients and potential partners.
"Our progress is supported by a strengthened leadership team as we welcome Richard Hughes into his new role as Non-Executive Chairman. We are completing the appointment of a new Non-Executive Director who will act as Deputy Chairman and the Senior Independent Director.
"We move forward with a strong financial foundation, having extended our cash runway into early Q1 2027 and reduced outstanding debt in the Heights Convertible Bond. We have raised £41.5 million in the last 18 months, providing funds beyond multiple value-inflection points including initial clinical data on AVA6103. In parallel, we are continuing our constructive partnering discussions with multiple parties on assets across our pipeline."
Research and Development Highlights
Gen Two (AVA6103):
· Following IND clearance in January, the first patient received treatment in FOCUS-01, a multi-center, open‑label Phase 1 clinical trial of AVA6103 (FAP-Exd, pre|CISION®-enabled exatecan), in March. The trial continues to enroll patients.
· Presented highly favorable data from multiple preclinical studies comparing payload delivery to successful antibody drug conjugates with similar payload of deruxtecan, Enhertu® and Datroway®.
· Updated preclinical and translational data presented at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Congress in San Diego in April 2026.
Gen One (AVA6000):
· Updated Phase 1a/1b data, showing encouraging early efficacy signals for AVA6000 in salivary gland cancers, at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2026
· Health regulators lifted the lifetime maximum dose due to highly favorable cardiac safety, and agreement on dose selection for subsequent trials
Gen Three (AVA6207):
· Demonstrated the dual payload technology incorporating the sustained release mechanism with multiple combinations of payloads with updated in vivo data presented at the AACR Annual Congress in San Diego in April 2026.
· Intellectual property (IP) portfolio continued to grow and gain momentum measured by increased IP filings.
Financial and Corporate Highlights
· Completed oversubscribed placing and subscription in March 2026, raising £10 million - extending cash runway into early Q1 2027.
· Raised gross proceeds of approximately £9 million from institutional investors and existing shareholders in June 2026, enabling reduction of outstanding debt in the Convertible Bond while strengthening the Company's balance sheet.
· These financings bring the total gross proceeds raised in the last 18 months to £41.5 million.
· The Company today welcomes Richard Hughes in his new role as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board. In addition, the Company is finalizing the appointment of an additional Non-Executive Director who will serve as Deputy Chairman and as the Senior Independent Director. A further announcement is expected to be issued shortly.
Outlook for 2H 2026
· Initial clinical data in the AVA6103 program anticipated in late H2 2026.
· Further AVA6000 clinical data from the Phase 1a and 1b cohorts expected be released during BIO International this week (June 22-25, 2026) and further analyses at a medical congress in Q3 2026.
· Payload selection and clinical candidate selection in AVA6207 program expected in H2 2026.
· Continuing discussions with multiple parties on potential partnering of first, second and third generation assets.
-Ends-
For further information from Avacta, please contact:
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Avacta Group plc Christina Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer |
via Cohesion Bureau |
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Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) James Harris / Chris Raggett / James Dance
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Zeus (Broker) James Hornigold / George Duxberry / Dominic King
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Cohesion Bureau Communications / Media / Investors Richard Jarvis
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About Avacta - 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 FAP-Exd (AVA6103)
AVA6103 is the second clinical candidate and is the first asset in the pipeline based on the Gen Two 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.
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