RNS Number : 7329G
Avacta Group PLC
10 August 2016
10 August 2016
Avacta Group plc
("Avacta" or "the Group" or "the Company")
Avacta and Leeds University awarded £3.8m Medical Research Council funding to develop new
diagnostic tests
· Collaboration to develop rapid tests to
differentiate between viral and bacterial infections, and differentiate bacterial
strains
· R&D programme aims to combine Avacta's
Affimer technology with novel microfluidic biosensors
· Avacta has first rights to commercialise
new tests developed under the programme
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and research
reagents, is pleased to announce that a collaborative development programme with Leeds University has been awarded a £3.8 million
grant by the Medical Research Council to develop novel, rapid diagnostic tools incorporating Affimer
reagents, to differentiate between viral and bacterial infections, and
differentiate bacterial strains.
This programme will develop next generation biosensors to differentiate between bacterial and
viral infections and also to determine which bacterial strain has caused the infection so that the correct antibiotic can be
quickly administered. This will allow for more targeted use of antibiotics, reducing the number of
wrongly prescribed treatments and increasing efficacy for patients, which will contribute to a reduction in anti-microbial resistance (AMR).
AMR is a major challenge for global healthcare. There is a growing global increase in the number
and type of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, and stagnation in the development of new antibiotics and viable
alternatives. The current lack of rapid and accurate diagnostic tools for infectious diseases often leads
to inappropriate antibiotic prescription, which has had a direct and significant impact on the increase of AMR, including the
methicillin resistance of staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This also leads to poor control of potentially
life-threatening infections such as clostridium difficile, and the continued increase in hospital caught
infections.
Affimer technology is an engineered alternative to antibodies that can capture a target, such as a
bacterial or viral protein, with a high degree of specificity. Affimer reagents can be used to create accurate diagnostic tests
and laboratory assays, and can also be developed as new therapeutic candidates.
The development of the biosensors will take place at Leeds University in the Groups of Professors
Christoph Walti (Electronic Engineering) and Mike McPherson (Biochemistry). Avacta will provide support for the development of
Affimer reagents that will be incorporated into the biosensors to facilitate the specific capture of bacterial
biomarkers.
As part of the collaborative agreement between Avacta and the University of Leeds, Avacta will
have the first rights to commercialise the new Affimer reagents and new diagnostic tests developed under the
programme.
Alastair Smith, Avacta Group Chief Executive commented:
"I am delighted that the potential of Affimer reagents to improve rapid diagnostics has been
recognised by the Medical Research Council through this substantial funding. The combination with the innovative microfluidic
devices developed at Leeds University is very promising and could lead to a new class of rapid test device.
"There is a growing, global need for diagnostic tests that differentiate bacterial strains.
Anti-microbial resistance is a huge issue for healthcare providers and one that is only going to get worse if the prescription of
antibiotics is not targeted by accurate and rapid diagnostics. This programme fits perfectly with our near term commercial
strategy to focus on developing Affimer reagents for rapid diagnostics. It will deliver valuable Affimer reagents that are
specific to key bacterial strains, which can be developed into a range of third party diagnostic platforms. In the longer term
the programme will also deliver novel, microfluidic, rapid test devices, which may surpass existing technologies.
"This is another example of the continued strong momentum behind the Affimer technology and I look
forward to reporting on progress on this and other applications."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:
Avacta Group plc
Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Tony Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer
|
Tel: +44 (0) 844 414 0452
www.avacta.com
|
Numis Securities Limited
Michael Meade / Freddie Barnfield - Nominated Adviser
James Black - Corporate Broking
WG Partners
David Wilson
Nigel Barnes
Claes Spang
|
Tel: +44 (0) 207 260 1000
www.numiscorp.com
Tel: +44 (0) 203 705 9318
Tel: +44 (0) 203 705 9217
www.wgpartners.co.uk
|
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)
Katie Odgaard
FTI Consulting (Financial Media and IR)
Simon Conway / Natalie Garland-Collins
|
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
Tel: +44 (0) 203 727 1000
avacta@fticonsulting.com
|
About Avacta Group plc (www.avacta.com)
Avacta's principal focus is on its proprietary Affimer® 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 $75bn 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 targets to enable diagnostics, research assays and therapeutics.
Avacta has a pre-clinical therapeutic 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.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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