8 April 2022

Avacta Group plc

("Avacta" or "the Group" or "the Company")

AffyXell partners with Biocytogen and the Korea Non-clinical Technology Support Center

Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage oncology drug company and developer of powerful diagnostics based on its innovative Affimer^® and pre|CISION™ platforms, is pleased to announce that AffyXell Therapeutics ("AffyXell"), a joint venture between Avacta and Daewoong Pharmaceutical ("Daewoong"), has entered into a collaboration agreement with Biocytogen, a Chinese company specializing in developing new biological drugs, and the Korea Non-Clinical Technology Solution Center ("KNTSC").

The collaboration is aimed at developing new immune disease in vivo models and carrying out proof-of-concept and toxicity testing of AffyXell's drug candidates using the developed disease models. These new models will benefit from Biocytogen's platform for gene editing, which creates mouse models capable of producing human antibodies. The collaboration is designed to improve the translation of AffyXell's programmes into human trials and accelerate drug development. The KNTSC's role in the collaboration is to provide the infrastructure and overall management for pre-clinical trials.

AffyXell was established in January 2020 by Avacta and Daewoong as a joint venture to develop novel mesenchymal stem cell ("MSC") therapies. AffyXell is combining Avacta's Affimer^® platform with Daewoong's MSC platform such that the stem cells are genetically modified to produce and secrete therapeutic Affimer^® proteins in situ in the patient. The Affimer^® proteins are designed to enhance the therapeutic effects of the MSC creating a novel, next generation cell therapy platform.

For further information about the collaboration, please see:

http://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=13456 

Dr Alastair Smith, CEO of Avacta, commented:

"The quality of pre-clinical disease models and their ability to translate into humans is critical for reducing risk and timelines associated with drug development. This collaboration has the potential to significantly accelerate AffyXell's programmes."

Sengho Jeon, Chief Executive Officer of Daewoong Pharmaceutical and AffyXell Therapeutics, said:

"Through this contract, the capabilities of the three companies can exert a synergistic effect, providing a foundation for speeding up the development of new drugs. In the future, we will further accelerate the development of cell gene therapy to overcome immune diseases and contribute to improving the quality of life of patients with incurable diseases."

Biocytogen CEO, Yuelei Shen, commented:

"We expect this contract to allow Affyxell to exert a synergistic effect on developing next-generation cell gene therapy for overcoming immune diseases based on our non-clinical animal model development and non-clinical experimental know-how related to immune diseases."

- ENDS -

For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:

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 derived from a small human protein. Despite their shortcomings, antibodies currently dominate markets, such as diagnostics and therapeutics, worth in excess of $100bn. Affimer technology has been designed to address many of these negative performance issues, principally: the time taken to generate new antibodies and the reliance on an animal's immune response; poor specificity in many cases; their large size, complexity and high cost of manufacture.

Avacta's pre|CISION™ targeted chemotherapy platform releases active chemotherapy in the tumour, which limits the systemic exposure that causes damage to healthy tissues, and thereby improves the overall safety and therapeutic potential of these powerful anti-cancer treatments.

The Group comprises two divisions: The therapeutics development activities are based in London and Cambridge, UK and the Group is generating near-term revenues from Affimer reagents for diagnostics, bioprocessing and research, through a separate diagnostics business unit based in Wetherby, UK.

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 deliver a more tolerable and durable treatment response for oncology patients who do not respond to existing immunotherapies. By combining its two proprietary platforms the Group is building a wholly owned pipeline of clinically differentiated cancer therapies, aiming to extend the therapeutic benefits to all cancer patients. In 2021 Avacta transitioned to become a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, commencing a phase I first-in-human, open label, dose-escalation and expansion study of AVA6000, a pro-doxorubicin, the Group's lead pre|CISION™ prodrug, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic selected solid tumours.

Avacta has established drug development partnerships with pharma and biotech, including a research collaboration with ModernaTX, Inc. (formerly Moderna Therapeutics Inc.), 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 collaboration with Point Biopharma to develop radiopharmaceuticals based on the pre|CISION™ platform. Avacta continues to actively seek to license its proprietary platforms in a range of therapeutic areas.

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