Shares in Wetherby-based biotherapeutics company Avacta Group (AVCT:AIM) pushed 6% higher to 130p today after the company announced positive data from a potential Covid-19 therapy.
Chief executive Dr. Alastair Smith commented, ‘I am delighted that our collaborators at the University of Glasgow have confirmed that these Affimer reagents not only block the spike-ACE2 binding but efficiently prevent a SARS-COV-2 model virus from entering human cells.’
This follows on from the announcement on 15 May that Avacta and its partner Cytiva had successfully generated a large number of Affirmer reagents that bind to the coronavirus and potentially block or neutralise the virus.
Today the company said it had successfully completed an initial phase of collaboration with Professor David Bhella at the University of Glasgow which showed that the neutralising reagents prevent the virus from entering human cells.
LICENSING POTENTIAL
Avacta’s affirmer technology is a novel class of biotherapeutic based on a naturally occurring human protein called Stefin A. One of the benefits of its reagents is their small size and high solubility which allows a much higher concentration of Affirmer molecules to be used which effectively block the spike proteins on each virus particle and better protect the patient.
The growing body of data gathered and ongoing work will be used to secure a large pharmaceutical partner to rapidly develop potential therapeutic candidates.
UK firms GlaxosmithKine (GSK) and AstraZeneca (AZN) have already started programmes to develop neutralising antibodies in an attempt to block the coronavirus.
One of the defining characteristics of the current pandemic has been the rapid development of therapies and vaccine candidates to fight the virus such as Gilead’s (NASDAQ:GILD) Remdesivir and Oxford University’s breakthrough with the steroid treatment dexamethasone.
Avacta and Cytiva are also working together to develop a rapid point-of-care coronavirus saliva test for large scale population screening and self-testing by consumers.
