Avacta Group Regulatory News (AVCT)

19 October 2015

Avacta Group plc

("Avacta" or "the Group")

Affimers shown to improve disease resistance in plants

Research from the University of Copenhagen suggests that Affimers may have significant commercial application in Agriscience

Study further highlights broad potential applications of the Affimer technology

Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and research reagents, is pleased to announce that data from a collaboration with researchers at the University of Copenhagen have shown that targeted Affimer expression using genetically engineered barley can improve disease resistance in one of the world's major cereal crops. The research was supported through Danish federal funding with Avacta providing access to the Affimer technology and know-how.

A study investigating whether Affimer technology could be used to block the mechanism by which powdery mildew infects the barley plant and overcomes its immune system was undertaken by a research group led by Professor Hans Thordal-Christensen from the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The research showed that when certain specific Affimer constructs were expressed by the plant, a 40% reduction in the susceptibility of barley to powdery mildew was observed. These promising early results indicate the potential use of Affimer technology to treat and diagnose a wide range of diseases in plants.

Barley has many uses in the human food chain and animal fodder, as well as being a major ingredient in beer and whisky production. One of the most devastating diseases of barley is powdery mildew which can typically reduce yields by 15%1 and has a significant effect on costs downstream in food and drink production. Plants rely on an innate immunity to protect themselves against such diseases but the pathogens evolve to overcome the plant's immune system and can mutate to develop resistance to fungicides. Genetic modifications can impart disease resistance and reduce the use of fungicides, but often this approach has the side effect of reducing yield itself. There is therefore a high unmet need to develop treatments that improve disease resistance in plants.

This approach to combating plant pathogens is another example of an application where it is unlikely that antibodies could provide a practical solution. In contrast to the straightforward expression of Affimer proteins in plant cells, as evidenced by this work, it is widely accepted that it is very challenging to produce functioning antibodies in plants.

Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Avacta, commented:

"I am delighted to see the interesting results generated by Professor Hans Thordal-Christensen and his team. This innovative approach to combating plant pathogens is another good example of an application where antibodies cannot provide a practical solution and where, conversely, the Affimer technology shows promise. This work is an important further validation of the Affimer platform and we will continue to keep the market updated on any such results that we are able to share."

Professor Hans Thordal-Christensen, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, commented:

"An Affimer-based approach to improving resistance will be highly specific against the barley powdery mildew and it should be able to stop the disease development in its early stages. Solutions like this could hopefully make fungicide use unnecessary and problematic disease resistance a thing of the past." 

Reference

1 http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk/your-crop/crop-diseases-weeds-and-pests/diseases/barley-diseases/powdery-mildew/

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Notes to Editors

Avacta Group plc (www.avacta.com)

Avacta's principal focus is on its proprietary Affimer® technology which is a novel engineered alternative to antibodies that has wide application in Life Sciences for diagnostics, therapeutics and general research and development.

Antibodies dominate markets worth in excess of $50bn despite their shortcomings. Affimer technology has been designed to address many of these negative performance issues, principally; the time taken to generate new antibodies, the reliance on an animal's immune response, poor specificity in many cases, and batch to batch variability. Affimer technology is based on a small protein that can be quickly generated to bind with high specificity and affinity to a wide range of protein targets.

Avacta has a pre-clinical biotech development programme with an in-house focus on oncology and bleeding disorders as well as several partnered development programmes. Avacta is commercialising Affimer reagents through custom Affimer services to provide bespoke solutions to customers and via a growing on-line catalogue of Affimer reagents.