Avacta and Glythera to jointly develop alternative to antibody drug conjugates

Avacta Group (LSE: AVCT), the provider of research reagents, consumables and equipment for life scientists, and biotech company Glythera believe they can develop a class of highly targeted bio-therapeutics as a superior alternative to the established class of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).

That is the stated aim of the newly-announced collaboration between the UK-based companies, which will see them evaluate the use of Glythera’s PermaLink conjugation chemistry in combination with Avacta’s Affimer technology.

ADCs use an antibody to which a toxin/chemotherapy payload is chemically attached for targeted delivery to a tumor. More than 50 of these conjugates are currently in clinical development and of these, approximately a quarter are in Phase II or Phase III. The market is estimated to be worth around $1 billion today from two approved compounds and is expected to be worth $10 billion annually by 2024.