This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

19 June 2023

Avacta Group plc

("Avacta" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiary undertakings, the "Group")

Director Appointment

Avacta appoints Shaun Chilton as Non-executive Director

Appointment brings additional, significant commercial and corporate development experience to the Board

Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a life sciences company developing innovative, targeted oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics, announces that Shaun Chilton has today joined the Board as a Non-executive Director.

Shaun Chilton was most recently Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of the formerly London-listed Clinigen Group plc ("Clinigen"), a global pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical services platform business, which he led through a significant growth journey. During his tenure, the company expanded through both an organic and a buy-and-build strategy which included successfully completing several transformational acquisitions. The Company was eventually sold to Triton Partners for a total consideration of c.£1.3 billion in April 2022.

Alongside his role as the CEO of Clinigen, Shaun was Non-Executive Chairman of C7Health, a disruptive, venture capital-backed medical technology and services business which executed an acquisitive growth journey before successfully being acquired by a strategic buyer in 2022. 

Shaun has held a number of senior and executive commercial positions over more than 30 years in companies in pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical services industries. These include at Pfizer, Sanofi, Wolters Kluwer Health and KnowledgePoint360 Group (now part of UDG Healthcare).

Dr Eliot Forster, Chairman of the Board of Avacta Group plc commented:

"Along with my fellow Directors I am delighted to welcome Shaun to the Board of Avacta Group. He brings a wide range of highly relevant commercial experiences from successful healthcare businesses with similar ambitions for growth that we have in Avacta. I know Shaun will positively impact our shared thinking and I'm excited to have him join the company."

Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group plc commented:

"I am delighted that Shaun has joined the Board of Avacta Group.  He brings deep and extensive commercial experience to further strengthen the senior leadership of the Group as it executes its strategy across two divisions to build a major global healthcare business working to improve people's health and well-being through innovative oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics."

Shaun Chilton, Non-Executive Director of Avacta Group, commented:

"Avacta Group is building a high value, global business that is seeking to significantly improve people's health and well-being. I am excited to leverage my own broad experience of growing healthcare businesses and working with the other members of the Board to help guide Avacta to meet its very significant potential."

Regulatory disclosure - The following disclosures are made in accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Shaun Edward Chilton, aged 55, holds no ordinary shares or options in the Company. Shaun Chilton's current and previous directorships are as follows:

Save for the disclosures above, there are no further disclosures to be made in accordance with Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules.

-Ends-

For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:

About Avacta Group plc - www.avacta.com

Avacta Group plc is a life sciences company working to improve people's health and well-being through innovative oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics. Operating through two divisions, Diagnostics and Therapeutics, the Group's mission is to provide professionals and consumers with solutions that improve healthcare, fitness and well-being.

Avacta's Therapeutics Division, a clinical stage oncology drug innovator, is building a wholly owned pipeline of novel Affimer^® immunotherapies and pre|CISION™ tumour targeted chemotherapies. This approach is designed to address the lack of a durable response to current cancer immunotherapies experienced by most patients and reduce the severe systemic toxicities caused by chemotherapies. There are five programmes in the pipeline as well as several global research collaborations and licensing partnerships. Avacta's lead programme, AVA6000, is a pre|CISION™ tumour-targeted form of the established chemotherapy doxorubicin. AVA6000 is in Phase I clinical trials in patients with locally advanced or metastatic selected solid tumours.

The Affimer^® platform is an alternative to antibodies that has been designed to address many of the drawbacks of antibodies which, despite their shortcomings, currently dominate the immuno-diagnostics and immuno-therapeutics markets.

The pre|CISION™ tumour targeting platform can be used to modify a chemotherapy in order to selectively release the active drug in tumour tissue thereby reducing the systemic exposure that causes damage to healthy tissues. pre|CISION™ modified chemotherapies are designed to reduce the side effects and improve the overall safety and therapeutic potential of these powerful anti-cancer treatments.

Avacta's Diagnostics Division develops and supplies a broad range of in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) solutions. The Division is growing rapidly through an M&A strategy to deliver a global scale IVD business providing market leading solutions for healthcare professionals and consumers to inform treatment and monitor health and well-being. In October 2022, Avacta acquired Launch Diagnostics which serves the hospital pathology laboratory market in the UK and Europe. In May 2023, Avacta acquired Coris Bioconcept a Belgium based lateral flow test developer and manufacturer adding a broad range of marketed professional-use rapid tests into the Diagnostics Division. Avacta Diagnostic's research and development centre in Wetherby, UK uses its proprietary Affimer^® platform to differentiate immunodiagnostic products to provide marketing leading performance.

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