Avacta Group PLC said on Thursday that LG Chem Life Sciences has exercised its renewal option as part of an ongoing collaboration with the company, triggering a fee payment of $2 million to Avacta.

Under the ongoing collaboration agreement, LG Chem holds the exclusive rights to develop and commercialise Avacta’s Affimer PD-L1 inhibitor with serum half-life extender Affimer XT in a range of indications.

LG Chem has now renewed its licence and will continue to progress the PD-L1/XT candidate by starting pre-clinical studies, which are expected to form the basis of an investigational new drug submission.

The London-based biopharamaceutical firm will be paid $2 million as a result of triggering the renewal.

‘The initiation of [investigational new drug] enabling studies represents a significant step towards first-in-human clinical trials of the Affimer platform, which is a key value driver for the technology and for Avacta,’ commented Chief Executive Alastair Smith.

LG Chem Life Sciences is the life sciences division of South Korean conglomerate LG Corp.

Shares in Avacta were down 0.9% at 108.05 pence on Thursday morning in London.

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