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(Alliance News) - Avacta Group PLC on Tuesday said that initial tests of its TMAC drug conjugate showed that the treatment outperformed Bavencio in an animal model of cancer.
TMAC is a newly-developed treatment that combines Avacta's Affimer immunotherapies and its pre-CISION chemotherapies, in a single drug molecule. Bavencio - also known as avelumab - is a marketed PD-L1 antibody inhibitor developed by Merck & Co Inc and Pfizer Inc.
The TMAC drug combines an Affimer PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor with an I-DASH drug warhead, Avacta said.
The TMAC molecule is designed to target the release of its drug warhead in the tumour micro-environment, inflaming the tumour locally in such a way that it attracts the immune system to further attack the cancer, whilst the Affimer immunotherapy, part of the TMAC molecule, supports this secondary immune system attack, Avacta said.
The biotechnology company said that in a preclinical mouse tumor model for TMAC, it found that in addition to the significant reduction in the rate of tumour growth compared to avelumab, the healthy tissues in the body were spared from exposure to the toxic cancer-killing warheads central to the drug's mechanism of action.
"These in vivo efficacy and distribution data demonstrate initial proof-of-concept and represents an important milestone. We continue to receive significant commercial interest in the concept, so I am delighted that we have been able to demonstrate superior efficacy and targeting of the warhead to the tumour with the first TMAC that we have tested in animals," said Avacta Chief Executive Alastair Smith.
Avacta shares were up 12% at 22.65 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com
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