Avacta Group
plc
("Avacta"
or "the Group" or "the Company")
Avacta and Tempus Enter
Strategic Collaboration to Advance AI-Driven Drug Development in
Oncology
LONDON - Oct. 21, 2024 - Avacta Therapeutics (AIM:
AVCT), a life sciences company
developing next generation peptide drug conjugates (PDC) targeting
powerful anti-tumor payloads directly to the tumor, today announces
the initiation of an artificial intelligence (AI)-focused
collaboration with Tempus AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: TEM), a technology
company leading the adoption of artificial intelligence to advance
precision medicine and patient care.
The strategic collaboration will
provide Avacta access to Tempus' multimodal datasets comprising
primary tumor samples and associated clinical data from over
200,000 patients across a broad range of cancer indications. The
collaboration is designed to leverage these data to
characterize the deep
biology of the tumor microenvironment and fibroblast activation
protein (FAP) activity upon which its pre|CISION®
technology is based.
In addition, Avacta has recently
expanded its pre|CISION® platform with the addition of
two new preclinical programs: AVA6103 and AVA7100. AVA6103 is a
novel pre|CISION®-enabled peptide drug conjugate
comprising exatecan, a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor, designed
to deliver its powerful anti-tumor effects directly to the tumor
while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues. AVA7100 is a
first-in-class Affimer® drug conjugate, aimed at cancers
with varying levels of FAP expression, including low FAP. Together,
these programs reflect the versatility of the
pre|CISION® platform and its potential to address a
broad range of cancer indications.
Avacta plans to leverage these
insights to further enhance its pre|CISION® platform
reach through the identification of the
full addressable patient populations for its clinical
programs. Tempus's analytical support and
computational biology experts will collaborate in the data analysis
with the Avacta team.
Christina Coughlin, MD PhD, CEO of Avacta, said,
"Our pipeline of pre|CISION® oncology
programs will benefit greatly from an extensive understanding of
the tumor microenvironment, FAP biology and both high- and low-FAP
expression across solid tumor settings. The Tempus AI
real-world database and
industry-leading AI capabilities will enable us to
better assess
the specific patient population most likely to respond to our
pre|CISION®
therapies,
enabling faster, smarter clinical development with the highest
probability of success."
Kate Sasser, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Tempus AI
added, "A powerful use of AI in drug
development is leveraging real-world data to have a deeper
understanding of the patient populations that would benefit from a
specific mechanism of action. Tempus was created to build one of
the world's largest libraries of multimodal data and an operating
system to make those data accessible and useful. This collaboration
with Avacta is another example of our execution of that vision, and
we are thrilled to partner with Avacta in support of their efforts
to bring game-changing new therapies to patients in
need."
For
further information from Avacta Group plc, please
contact:
About the pre|CISION® Platform
The
pre|CISION® platform comprises an anticancer payload conjugated to a
proprietary peptide that is a highly specific substrate for
fibroblast activation protein (FAP) which is upregulated in most
solid tumors compared with healthy tissues. The
pre|CISION® platform harnesses this tumor specific protease to cleave
pre|CISION® peptide drug conjugates and pre|CISION® antibody/Affimer® drug conjugates in the tumor
microenvironment, thus releasing active payload in the tumor and
reducing systemic exposure and toxicity, allowing dosing to be
optimized to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
About AVA6000
The lead
pre|CISION® program AVA6000, a peptide drug conjugate form of doxorubicin,
is in Phase 1 studies. It has shown an improvement in safety and
tolerability in clinical trials to date compared with standard
doxorubicin and preliminary signs of clinical activity in multiple
patients.To register for news alerts by email go
to https://avacta.com/investors/investor-news-email-alerts/.
About Avacta Group plc - https://avacta.com/
Avacta Group is a UK-based
life sciences company focused on improving healthcare outcomes
through targeted cancer treatments and diagnostics. Its clinical
stage oncology biotech division Avacta Therapeutics is harnessing
the proprietary pre|CISION® platform technology to develop
novel, highly targeted cancer drugs. Avacta
Diagnostics focuses on supporting healthcare professionals and
broadening access to diagnostics. To register for news alerts by
email go to https://avacta.com/investors/investor-news-email-alerts/.
