Avacta Group PLC said on Wednesday its candidate for multiple forms of cancer, AVA6000 Pro-doxorubicin, is advancing to its third dose cohort after ‘a positive review of the safety data’ from the second cohort.
Avacta shares were 12% higher at 111.70 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
The third cohort will receive an AVA6000 dosing of 160 milligrammes per square metre, up from 120 for the second cohort.
The Cambridge, England-based drug developer and diagnostics company is trialling AVA6000 on several forms of cancer, including pancreatic, colorectal, breast, head & neck, ovarian, bladder and non-small cell lung cancer.
AVA6000 is a form of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin, which slows or stops the growth of cancer cells by blocking an enzyme called topo isomerase 2.
AVA6000 aims to reduce adverse effects of doxorubicin by limiting its exposure to healthy tissue. It seeks to achieve the reduction by detecting a high concentration of a fibroblast activation protein in cells. Many solid tumours have a high concentration of the protein, in comparison with healthy tissues, Avacta explained.
‘AVA6000, and the pre|CISION platform more broadly, have the potential to deliver safer and affordable oncology drugs that could significantly improve cancer patients’ lives,’ said Chief Executive Officer Alastair Smith.
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