Life Sciences Focus: Biotherapeutics
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Avacta Group: in the forefront in the fight against coronavirus
Novel cancer immunotherapies specialist Avacta Group has joined the fight against coronavirus by developing a rapid antigen test for the SARS-COV-2 spike protein in collaboration with Cytvia. In the meantime, the company continues to progress its anti-cancer drug candidates through preclinical development and into the clinic.
immunotherapies by combining two proprietary platforms, Affimer biotherapeutics and tumour targeted chemotherapies. With this approach, the company aims to address the lack of a durable response to current immunotherapies experienced by most patients and in the near term is supporting this research from revenues generated by developing Affimer reagents for diagnostics, bioprocessing and research at a separate business unit based in Wetherby, UK.
A Alternative to antibodies
The Affimer platform is an alternative to antibodies and has been designed to address many of the negative performance issues of antibodies, principally: the time taken, and the reliance on an animal’s immune response, to generate new antibodies; poor specificity in many cases; large size; and cost. The company’s other technology platform, its proprietary targeted chemotherapy approach, releases active drug only in the tumour, thereby limiting systemic exposure and improving the overall safety and therapeutic potential of these powerful anti-cancer treatments. By combining the two platforms, Avacta is building a wholly owned pipeline of novel cancer therapies with the aim of creating effective treatments for all cancer patients including those who do not respond to existing immunotherapies. The company
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Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive, Avacta Group: “very encouraged” by the positive data from the company’s first SARS-COV-2 (coronavirus) spike protein rapid antigen test devices being developed in collaboration with Cytvia.
expects to take its first drug, a targeted form of the standard-of- care Doxorubicin, into the clinic shortly (mid-2020) and to follow on with an IND/CTA submission for the first Affimer programme, a PD-L1 antagonist, in Q4 2020.
Coronavirus: developing a rapid antigen test Avacta is also very active in fight against coronavirus/COVID-19 disease through its rapid antigen test development partnership with Cytvia (formerly GE Healthcare Life Sciences) and recently announced positive initial data for the first Affimer-based rapid test strips for the SARS-COV-2 (coronavirus/COVID-19 disease) spike protein.
In mid-May, Avacta provided
Affimer reagents that are specific to the SARS-COV-2 spike protein to Cytiva which has now developed the first lateral flow test strips using these reagents. The data show that the test strips detect the spike protein in model samples at concentrations within the clinical range found in saliva of patients with COVID-19 and work is now continuing on refining the test strip design, optimizing its performance, and establishing the best detection limit possible in order to generate the highest sensitivity in the final rapid test product. Following the optimization of
the lateral flow test by Cytiva, the design will then be transferred
to manufacturing partners in the UK. These manufacturers are currently being selected by Avacta and are working with the company to compress manufacturing, clinical validation and regulatory timelines in order to bring a product to market as quickly as possible. Dr. Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group, commented: “I am delighted with the progress made by our partners at Cytiva and very encouraged by the positive data from the first test devices. We now need to optimize the test performance to achieve the best possible limit of detection as this will ultimately play a significant factor in determining the clinical
Summer 2020
vacta Group is a Cambridge, UK- based company
developing novel cancer
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