20 October 2022
Avacta Group plc
("Avacta" or "the Group" or "the Company")
Director/PDMR Shareholding
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cancer therapies and powerful diagnostics based on its proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms, today confirms that following the Company's financing announced on 18 October 2022, Dr. Eliot Forster, Non-Executive Chairman of the Company, subscribed for 15,000 ordinary shares of 10p each ("Ordinary Shares") in the Placing at 95 pence per share.
Following his subscription, Dr. Eliot Forster owns 168,333 Ordinary Shares in the Company, representing 0.06% of the Company's issued share capital.
Capitalised terms used but not otherwise defined in the text of this announcement shall have the meaning given to them in the Company's announcements on the 18 October 2022.
-Ends-
For further information from Avacta Group plc, please contact:
| Avacta Group plc Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer Tony Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer Michael Vinegrad, Group Communications Director
| Tel: +44 (0) 1904 21 7070 |
| Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nomad and Broker) Nicholas Moore / Nick Adams / Samira Essebiyea / Nick Harland / Dhiren Suares / William Palmer-Brown
| Tel: +44 (0) 207 710 7600 |
| FTI Consulting (Financial Media and IR) Simon Conway / Alex Shaw / George Kendrick
| Tel: +44(0) 203 727 1000 |
| Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media) Lily Jeffery
| Tel: +44 (0)7891 477 378 |
About Avacta Group plc - https://www.avacta.com
Avacta Group is developing novel cancer immunotherapies and powerful diagnostics based on its two proprietary platforms - Affimer® biologics and preCISION™ tumour targeted chemotherapies.
The Affimer® platform is an alternative to antibodies and is derived from a small human protein. Affimer technology has been designed to address many of the negative issues of antibodies, principally: the time taken to generate new antibodies, the reliance on an animal's immune response; poor specificity in many cases; in addition to, the complexity and high cost of manufacture. Despite these shortcomings, antibodies currently dominate markets, such as diagnostics and therapeutics, which are worth in excess of $100bn.
Avacta's preCISION™ targeted chemotherapy platform is designed to selectively release active chemotherapy in FAP rich tumour tissue to limit the systemic exposure that causes damage to healthy tissues, and thereby aims to improve the overall safety and therapeutic potential of these powerful anti-cancer treatments.
The Avacta Group comprises two divisions: The therapeutics development activities are based in London, UK and a separate diagnostics business unit is based in Wetherby, UK. The Group is generating near-term revenues from Affimer® reagents for diagnostics, bioprocessing and research.
Avacta's Diagnostics Division is developing an in-house pipeline of Affimer-based diagnostic assays, including the AffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 Lateral Flow Rapid Antigen Test, and works with partners world-wide to develop bespoke Affimer® reagents for third party products.
Avacta's Therapeutics Division is working to generate more tolerable and durable treatments for oncology patients who do not respond to existing therapies. By combining its two proprietary platforms the Group is building a wholly owned pipeline of clinically differentiated cancer therapies. In 2021 Avacta transitioned to become a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, when it commenced a phase I trial in patients with locally advanced or metastatic selected solid tumours. The study was a first-in-human, open label, dose-escalation and expansion study of the Group's lead preCISION™ prodrug, AVA6000 (a pro-doxorubicin).
Avacta has established drug development partnerships with pharma and biotech, including a multi-target deal with LG Chem worth up to $400m, a joint venture in South Korea with Daewoong Pharmaceutical focused on cell and gene therapies incorporating Affimer immune-modulators and a recent license agreement with Point Biopharma for them to develop radiopharmaceuticals based on the preCISION™ platform.
To register for news alerts by email go to www.avacta.com/investor-news-email-alerts
ANNEX
| 1
| Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated
| |||||||
| a)
| Name
| Dr. Eliot Forster | ||||||
| 2
| Reason for the notification
| |||||||
| a)
| Position/status
| Non-Executive Chairman | ||||||
| b)
| Initial notification /Amendment
| Initial notification | ||||||
| 3
| Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
| |||||||
| a)
| Name
| Avacta Group PLC. | ||||||
| b)
| LEI
| 2138009U3EG31OPMGH36 | ||||||
| 4
| Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
| |||||||
| a)
| Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument | Ordinary Shares of 10p each | ||||||
| | | |||||||
| Identification code | ISIN: GB00BYYW9G87 | |||||||
| | | |||||||
| b)
| Nature of the transaction
| Placing | ||||||
| c)
| Price(s) and volume(s) | | | | | |||
| | | Price(s) | Volume(s) | | ||||
| | | 95.00p | 15,000 | | ||||
| | | | | | ||||
| d)
| Aggregated information | | ||||||
| |
| |||||||
| | | |||||||
| | | |||||||
| |
| |||||||
| | | |||||||
| e)
| Date of the transaction
| 18 October 2022 | ||||||
| f)
| Place of the transaction
| London Stock Exchange, AIM Market | ||||||
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