Avacta signs collaboration deal with Daewoong joint venture

Biotherapeutics and reagents developer Avacta Group announced on Monday that it has signed a collaboration and license agreement with AffyXell Therapeutics - the recently-established joint venture with Daewoong Pharmaceutical - to develop Affimer proteins to be used by AffyXell for the generation of new cell and gene therapies.

The AIM-traded firm said Avacta and AffyXell would now work together to develop Affimer proteins against a range of targets which, when produced by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), were intended to inhibit inflammatory and autoimmune pathways and improve the overall efficacy of MSCs, creating a next generation of stem cell therapies.

It said the initial focus for AffyXell would be on inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

In the longer term, there was potential for AffyXell to address oncology uses for those Affimer-enabled cell and gene therapies.

Under the terms of the collaboration and license agreement, Avacta's research and development costs associated with the generation of the Affimer proteins would be funded by AffyXell.

In addition, Avacta would retain the rights to commercialise the Affimer proteins outside of the field of cell therapies.

“The potential for AffyXell's new class of cell therapies, which can be applied to a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, is enormous,” said chief executive officer Dr Alastair Smith.

“We are therefore very excited by the opportunity to be part of this new venture and to demonstrate the power of Affimer proteins in the field of engineered cell therapies.”

Dr Smith said the company’s objective was for those cell therapies to finally fully address diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases and multiple sclerosis, as well as other autoimmune diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“The potential to make a difference in the quality of life for millions of patients continues to inspire us, as we know it does our colleagues at Daewoong as well.

“From a commercial perspective, the global stem cell market is expected to be worth USD16bn* by 2025.”

AffyXell had a “unique opportunity” to combine two world-class technologies, Avacta's Affimer antibody mimetic platform and Daewoong's proprietary technology for generating "off-the-shelf" allogeneic MSC therapies to create the next generation of stem cell therapies, Dr Smith said.

“We believe that this has the potential to create substantial value for stakeholders in the near future.”

At 1613 GMT, shares in Avacta Group were up 5.71% at 24.05p.