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Avacta Announces Year-end Trading Update
LONDON and PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing pre|CISION®, a tumor-activated oncology delivery platform, has published a trading update for the year ended December 31, 2025. The Company made excellent progress during 2025, developing its unique industry-leading technology platform, pre|CISION®, with two programs anticipated to be in clinical development in 2026. The Company raised £22.5m in equity
About this update from Avacta Group Plc
LONDON and PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing pre|CISION ® , a tumor-activated oncology delivery platform, has published a trading update for the year ended December 31, 2025. The Company made excellent progress during 2025, developing its unique industry-leading technology platform, pre|CISION ® , with two programs anticipated to be in clinical development in 2026. The Company raised £22.5m in equity during 2025 to support the investment in its programs. Highlights Research and Development Financial Outlook for 2026 Christina Coughlin MD, PhD, CEO of Avacta, commented : "We gained real traction with our R&D programs, based on our unique industry leading technology, pre|CISION ® , during 2025. There are no other technologies that can deliver cancer treatment drugs directly into the tumor at the concentrations that our payloads enable without causing highly toxic side effects. “Our sustained release mechanism piloted in the FAP-Exd (AVA6103) program is anticipated to begin clinical testing this quarter, a significant milestone achievement, just 24 months after the beginning of the program. This program continues to garner significant interest from global pharmaceutical companies; however, the Company’s strategy remains to retain 100% of AVA6103 until we begin to see readouts from the Phase 1a clinical trial. Importantly, the trial has been designed to rapidly deliver clinical data in this program. “We are developing further IP around the pre|CISION ® platform. Drug development isn’t just about science, it is about strategy and protecting our innovation. Our IP estate is the most valuable asset we have. To further this IP estate, we also raised over £22m to support our research and development programs, which gives us a runway into Q3 2026. These funds allow the Company to initiate the AVA6103 clinical trial and we anticipate the initial data in the AVA6103 program in the second half of 2026. “The unique nature of the dual payload program is also generating interest and we are exploring opportunities with multiple potential partners with a view to investigating the wide utility of this novel technology. “We continue to have multiple conversations with global pharmaceutical companies regarding our full pipeline. We are incredibly excited for the year ahead, which the board believes will be a transformative period for the Company, patients and our shareholders.” Operational update Faridoxorubicin (AVA6000) FAP-Exd (AVA6103) Recent pharmacology data ( link ) have been released demonstrating several key aspects of the FAP-Exd (AVA6103) program, including: The FAP-Exd Phase 1 trial design has been released ( link ) and includes the following aspects to optimize the execution of this study: Dual Payload Technology (AVA6207) Financial update The Company raised £22.5m in equity (gross) to support its investment programs during the year and also realized just over £15m from the disposal of the non-core diagnostics businesses. The Company renegotiated the terms of the convertible bond with the Quarterly Convertible Bond repayments and interest in January 2026 and April 2026 payment dates deferred until October 2027. In addition, the bondholder has the right to accelerate the satisfaction of the deferred repayments based on agreed conditions and the conversion price of the convertible bond is reset at 75.0p. All conditions of the bond renegotiation are reported here ( link ). Unaudited cash and cash equivalents at as December 31, 2025, were £16.9m, providing the Company with a runway into Q3 2026 to support its research and development activities. For further information from Avacta, please contact: About Avacta - www.avacta.com Avacta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage life sciences company expanding the reach of highly potent cancer therapies with the pre|CISION ® platform. pre|CISION ® is a proprietary payload delivery system based on a tumor-specific protease (fibroblast activation protein or FAP) that is designed to concentrate highly potent payloads in the tumor microenvironment while sparing normal tissues. Our innovative pipeline consists of pre|CISION ® peptide drug conjugates (PDC) or Affimer ® drug conjugates (AffDC) that leverage the tumor-specific release mechanism, providing unique benefits over traditional antibody drug conjugates. The pre|CISION ® platform comprises an anticancer payload conjugated to a proprietary peptide that is a highly specific substrate for fibroblast activation protein (FAP) which is upregulated in most solid tumors compared with healthy tissues. The pre|CISION ® platform harnesses this tumor specific protease to cleave pre|CISION ® peptide drug conjugates and pre|CISION ® antibody/Affimer ® drug conjugates in the tumor microenvironment, thus releasing active payload in the tumor and reducing systemic exposure and toxicity, allowing dosing to be optimized to deliver the best outcomes for patients.