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LONDON (Alliance News) - Biotherapeutics and research reagents developer Avacta Group PLC on Wednesday said a collaboration programme it runs with Leeds University has been awarded a GBP3.8 million grant.
Avacta said the grant, from the UK's Medical Research Council, will be used to back the development of rapid diagnostic tools using Affimer reagents developed by Avacta. The tools will be used to differentiate between viral and bacterial infections and to differentiate bacterial strains.
The programme is designed to allow for the more targeted use of antibiotics and contribute to the reduction in anti-microbial resistance, a key issue for the global healthcare community given the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Avacta's Affimer technology is designed to capture targets, such as bacteria or viral proteins, with a high degree of specificity, allowing the creation of accurate diagnostic tests.
"There is a growing, global need for diagnostic tests that differentiate bacterial strains. Anti-microbial resistance is a huge issue for healthcare providers and one that is only going to get worse if the prescription of antibiotics is not targeted by accurate and rapid diagnostics," said Alastair Smith, Avacta's chief executive.
"This programme fits perfectly with our near term commercial strategy to focus on developing Affimer reagents for rapid diagnostics. It will deliver valuable Affimer reagents that are specific to key bacterial strains, which can be developed into a range of third party diagnostic platforms. In the longer term the programme will also deliver novel, microfluidic, rapid test devices, which may surpass existing technologies," Smith added.
Avacta shares were up 5.6% to 104.00 pence Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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