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Summary
- Avacta Group has joined forces with Point Biopharma Inc to accelerate the progress of tumour-activated radiopharmaceuticals
- The agreement will lead to proceeds of $9.5 million to Avacta Group, which comprises of an upfront fee and development milestones for the first radiopharmaceutical prodrug
- Shares of Avacta Group have delivered a price return of 700 per cent in the last 52 weeks
LSE-listed biotechnology company Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) has joined forces with Point Biopharma Inc to accelerate the development of tumour-activated radiopharmaceuticals. UK’s leading developer of innovative cancer therapies and diagnostics Avacta Group has forged a license agreement with Point Biopharma according to which it would share its proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISIONTM FAP sensitive activation platforms. Clinical-stage pharmaceutical company Point Biopharma specialises in the development of radioligands as precision medicines that are used in cancer treatments.
With the world relying heavily on the biotech and pharma sector for a long-lasting solution to the unprecedented crisis, a lot of advancement is likely to happen this year within the sector. The radiopharmaceutical market is projected to grow much faster to $15 billion withing five years 2025, if the safety and acceptability of the efficient treatments can be enhanced.
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Point Biopharma could leverage upon Avacta's proprietary pre|CISIONTM technology to produce a tumour-activated prodrug by modifying a conventional radioligand drug. The tumour-activated prodrug comes to life once it enters the tumour cell. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP), a kind of protein enzyme that is found in high abundance in solid tumours, activates the prodrug once it enters the tumour micro-environment.
Avacta's pre|CISION™ technology can, therefore, be used more effectively by targeting the radioligand treatment, more specifically to cancer cells and eventually improve the tolerability and clinical outcomes for patients compared with standard radiopharmaceuticals.
Point Biopharma shall use Avacta’s pre|CISION™ technology to develop radiopharmaceutical prodrug along with a pipeline of FAP-activated radiopharmaceuticals using both exclusive and non-exclusive licenses, respectively.
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The agreement will lead to proceeds of $9.5 million to Avacta Group, which includes an upfront fee and development milestones for the first radiopharmaceutical prodrug. For subsequent radiopharmaceutical prodrugs, Avacta Group shall receive milestone payments of $8 million each, commissions on income from sub-licensing. In addition, Avacta will also enjoy royalty proceeds coming from the sales of FAP-activated radiopharmaceuticals.
Avacta’s pre|CISION prodrug platform is supplementing the development of novel cancer therapies as it improves the efficacy and safety of many existing drugs. In addition, the platform helps in identifying the appropriate dosing regimen that can certainly help in improving the outcomes for patients treated with existing cancer therapies. Notably, shares of Avacta Group have delivered a price return of 700 per cent in the last 52 weeks.
