Avacta strengthens oncology position in 2025

(Sharecast News) - Avacta Group said on Tuesday that it had strengthened its position as a pure-play oncology biopharmaceutical company during 2025, with progress across its 'preCISION' tumour-activated drug delivery platform and cash runway extended into the first quarter of 2027.

The AIM-traded clinical-stage company said cash and short-term deposits stood at £16.9m at 31 December, up from £12.9m a year earlier. As at 30 April 2026, cash was £16.4m.

Avacta raised £22.5m in new equity during 2025 from existing and new investors, and renegotiated the terms of its convertible bond.

After the year ended, it completed an oversubscribed placing and subscription in March 2026, raising a further £10m.

The company said it had made significant progress with its 'preCISION' platform, including two programmes now in clinical development.

Its Gen Two programme, AVA6103, entered the clinic in March 2026 when the first patient was treated in FOCUS-01, a multicentre, open-label Phase 1 trial in six advanced cancers selected using Avacta's strategic collaboration with Tempus AI.

The company said it had presented favourable preclinical data for AVA6103 compared with antibody drug conjugates Enhertu and Datroway, with updated preclinical and translational data shown at the AACR annual meeting in April.

Avacta's Gen One programme, AVA6000, continued to enrol patients in a Phase 1b trial assessing efficacy in more defined patient populations.

The company said it had reported encouraging efficacy and safety data in salivary gland cancer, while positive health authority interactions had led to the removal of the lifetime maximum dose limit because of favourable cardiac safety data and agreement on dose selection for subsequent trials.

Its Gen Three programme, AVA6207, demonstrated dual-payload technology incorporating a sustained-release mechanism, with updated in vivo data also presented at AACR.

Avacta said its intellectual property portfolio had continued to expand, including filings covering the sustained-release payload delivery mechanism and dual-payload delivery technology.

For 2026, the company expected initial clinical data from AVA6103 late in the second half, while AVA6000 Phase 1a and 1b data are expected in the first half.

Payload and clinical candidate selection for AVA6207 was expected in the second half.

Avacta said it was continuing discussions with multiple parties on potential partnerships across its first-, second- and third-generation assets.

Chief executive Christina Coughlin said Avacta had made "great strides" in focusing on oncology therapeutics and said its 'preCISION' platform had generated strong interest from potential commercial partners.

"Our strong financial position, having raised £32.5m over the last 18 months, provides us with a cash runway into early Q1 2027 and through key value inflection points," she said.

"This promises to be a transformative period for Avacta and our patients."

At 1256 BST, shares in Avacta Group were down 1.34% at 83.37p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

See latest RNS on Investegate

Avacta Group