TIDMAVCT
RNS Number : 7844O
Avacta Group PLC
22 May 2018
22 May 2018
Avacta Group plc
("Avacta" or "the Group" or "the Company")
Successful Outcome of "Gene Delivery" Collaboration with FIT
Biotech
Sustained production of Affimer drugs by muscle tissue in vivo
could lead to
major patient and commercial benefits
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), the developer of Affimer(R)
biotherapeutics and reagents, is pleased to announce that its
research collaboration with FIT Biotech Oy (FITBIO:FN Finland) has
successfully completed a proof-of-concept study with very
encouraging data, showing sustained production of Affimer molecules
by the muscle tissue of mice. This was achieved from a single
dosing of the Affimer DNA using the FIT technology.
Key findings:
-- The study shows clinically relevant levels of Affimer drug in
the blood stream of mice for over one month following a single dose
of Affimer DNA into the leg muscle tissue
-- Due to the simple structure of the Affimer the study showed
significantly higher levels of Affimer production when compared to
an antibody used in this study.
-- Patient benefits lie in less frequent dosing because of
sustained production of the therapeutic by the patient's body and
potentially better efficacy in some cases.
-- A significant commercial benefit of delivering drugs in this
way is the substantially lower cost of goods.
Therapeutic proteins such as monoclonal antibodies are routinely
administered to patients by injection at regular time intervals.
One way of avoiding this protein production step is to trigger the
patient's own body to make the protein by injecting the "recipe" in
the form of DNA (called "gene delivery"). The commercial benefit of
this approach is that the production of DNA is substantially
cheaper and quicker than the production of the protein itself,
leading to substantially lower cost of goods.
The ideal protein for gene delivery must be produced easily by
the patient's cells, in order that a clinically relevant dose is
achieved, and the technology for delivering the genes to patients
should ensure stable and prolonged production of the proteins in a
safe manner.
A proof-of-concept study was carried out in mice to assess the
effectiveness of combining Avacta's Affimer proteins with FIT
Biotech's gtGTU(R) gene delivery technology. The DNA of two
different Affimer proteins was delivered into muscle tissue, and
the amount of Affimer produced and entering the blood stream of the
mice over time was monitored. The combination of the two
technologies resulted in clinically relevant levels of therapeutic
Affimer in the blood stream for over a month following a single
dose of DNA. The levels of Affimer were between three and twelve
times greater than that achieved using an antibody in the
study.
Sustained production of an Affimer therapeutic in patients would
allow for less frequent dosing, fewer visits to hospital, and
potentially, lower overall treatment costs. It is also possible
that patients could benefit from improved therapies by gene
delivery directly into a solid tumour, potentially leading to high
localised doses with reduced toxicity, as the rest of the patient's
system would not be exposed to the therapeutic.
Dr Alastair Smith, Avacta Group Chief Executive Officer,
commented:
"The potential commercial and patient benefits of achieving
sustained production of Affimer therapeutics by the body through
delivery of just the Affimer DNA are vast, and it is very exciting
to see such encouraging results of this exploratory study. From
this initial data, the combination of the two companies'
technologies appears to be very effective and we will now explore
the different opportunities to take this forward collaboratively,
and with larger partners."
Erkki Pekkarinen, FIT Biotech Chief Executive Officer,
commented:
"We are very excited to work with Avacta in developing safer and
better biological drugs. The combination of our respective
platforms shows great potential, and further demonstrates that FIT
Biotech's gtGTU platform shows promise in developing a wide range
of next-generation biological drugs that bring added value to
suppliers, healthcare professionals, and most importantly, to
patients. Our technology has huge potential in the biological drugs
market that is expected to grow to $480 billion by 2024."
- Ends -
The information communicated in this announcement is inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation
596/2014.
For further information from Avacta Group plc, please
contact:
Avacta Group plc Tel: +44 (0) 844 414 0452
Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer www.avacta.com
Tony Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer
finnCap Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 0500
Geoff Nash / Giles Rolls - Nominated www.finncap.com
Adviser
Tim Redfern / Alice Lane / Nikita
Jain - Corporate Broking Tel: +44 (0) 203 705 9318
Tel: +44 (0) 203 705 9217
WG Partners www.wgpartners.co.uk
Nigel Birks / Nigel Barnes
David Wilson / Claes Spang
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Media) katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
Katie Odgaard
Tel: +44 (0)7764 947137
Yellow Jersey (Financial Media and avacta@yellowjerseypr.com
IR)
Sarah Hollins
About Avacta Group plc (www.avacta.com)
Avacta's principal focus is on its proprietary Affimer(R)
technology which is a novel engineered alternative to antibodies
that has wide application in Life Sciences for diagnostics,
therapeutics and general research and development.
Antibodies dominate markets worth in excess of $50bn despite
their shortcomings. Affimer technology has been designed to address
many of these negative performance issues, principally; the time
taken to generate new antibodies, the reliance on an animal's
immune response, poor specificity in many cases, and batch to batch
variability. Affimer technology is based on a small protein that
can be quickly generated to bind with high specificity and affinity
to a wide range of protein targets.
Avacta has a pre-clinical biotech development programme with an
in-house focus on immuno-oncology and bleeding disorders as well as
partnered development programmes. Avacta is commercialising
non-therapeutic Affimer reagents through licensing to developers of
life sciences research tools and diagnostics.
About FIT Biotech (www.fitbiotech.com)
FIT Biotech Oy is a biotechnology company established in 1995.
The company develops and licenses its patented GTU(R) (Gene
Transport Unit) vector technology for new-generation medical
treatments. GTU(R) is a gene transport technology that meets an
important medical challenge in the usability of gene therapy and
DNA vaccines.
FIT Biotech applies GTU(R) technology in its drug development
programmes. Application areas include cancer (gene therapy) and
infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis, as well as animal
vaccines.
FIT Biotech shares are listed on the First North Finland
marketplace maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki Oy.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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