Avacta Group plc
Collaboration Agreement with UCB and sponsorship from the DTI
Avacta Group plc ("Avacta" or the "Company"), which develops detection and
analysis technology aimed at the defence & security, pharmaceutical and
clinical diagnostics markets, announces an agreement with UCB's Celltech
Antibody Centre of Excellence ("UCB") together with the commencement of a
Department of Trade and Industry ("DTI") sponsored Collaborative Research and
Development project.
Avacta will be the lead partner, working with UCB, in developing analytical
technology to measure the biophysical properties of therapeutic antibodies and
develop algorithms that use these data to predict properties that are critical
to later stage performance.
Avacta believes that strong demand exists in the biopharmaceutical industry for
techniques to analyse very small quantities of biological therapeutic materials
at an early stage of the development process. The analytical techniques it is
developing with UCB are aimed at enabling companies to measure or predict
certain key properties of experimental compounds at an early stage in the
development pipeline, prior to committing further investment. The goal is to
predict as early as possible whether problems related to properties such as
aggregation, stability and viscosity will occur in later stages of development,
manufacturing or delivery.
UCB will own the intellectual property rights generated relating specifically
to its therapeutic molecules, whilst Avacta will own the rights to the new
analytical technology and predictive tools.
Avacta plans to monetise the results of this project through one or more routes
including potentially the supply of innovative instrumentation, licensing of
the developed technologies and the provision of high value contract screening
services via Avacta's analytical services subsidiary.
Prof. Alastair Smith, Chief Executive, Avacta, commented:
"There are difficulties faced by biopharmaceutical companies in predicting
therapeuticprotein performance at an early stage, thereby leading to increased
risk of eventual product failure. This project addresses these issues by
developing innovative biophysical tools for the rapid analysis of small volumes
of compounds and predictive tools which may reduce the attrition rate of
candidates in the development pipeline, thereby saving these companies many
millions.
"We know that considerable demand exists for analytical techniques and tools
capable of predicting at an early stage the viability of molecules as clinical
products and are very fortunate to have joined forces with UCB and to have
obtained sponsorship from the DTI."
Dr. Richard Pither, Vice President Research - Biologicals, UCB Celltech
(Antibody Centre of Excellence), added:
"The team at Avacta represents the cutting edge of biophysics research combined
with a commercial focus. This project is important to UCB in that success may
help us to select and develop better products, more quickly. We look forward to
working with Avacta."
24 August 2006
Enquiries:
Avacta Group plc Tel: 0870 835 4367
Alastair Smith, Chief Executive
Nexus Financial Ltd Tel: 020 7451 7050
Nicholas Nelson, Director nicholas.nelson@nexusgroup.co.uk
Kathy Boate
Notes to Editors:
About Avacta
Avacta was spun-out from the University of Leeds in January 2004 by its current
management team as a biophysics company, with the aim of combining the
disciplines of physics and biology to develop innovative technologies to
address needs in the homeland security, pharmaceutical and clinical diagnostics
markets. The goal of Avacta is to integrate the best elements of each
discipline into technologies suitable to address specific identified needs in
the targeted markets. In seeking to achieve this goal Avacta intends to combine
its in-house expertise in laser spectroscopy, nanotechnology and
instrumentation engineering with its understanding of the versatility and
specificity of biology.
Avacta has two core activities:
* the development of detection technology platforms designed to meet the
needs of its target markets
* the provision of analytical services relating to the chemical and physical
analysis of materials to a range of companies, principally in the
pharmaceutical, healthcare and personal care sectors.
Avacta was admitted to trading on AIM on 8 August 2006.
About UCB
UCB (www.ucb-group.com) is a leading global biopharmaceutical company dedicated
to the research, development and commercialisation of innovative pharmaceutical
and biotechnology products in the fields of central nervous system disorders,
allergy/respiratory diseases, immune and inflammatory disorders and oncology.
UCB focuses on securing a leading position in severe disease categories.
Employing over 8,300 people in over 40 countries, UCB achieved revenue of 2.3
billion euro in 2005. UCB is listed on the Euronext Brussels Exchange and its
worldwide headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium.