Avacta Group Regulatory News (AVCT)

Avacta Group plc

Completion of a Major Research Project with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company

Avacta Group plc ("Avacta" or the "Company"), which provides innovative, high value proprietary technologies and services to the pharmaceutical and diagnostics markets, is delighted to announce that Curidium, the personalised medicine company that Avacta acquired in 2009, has completed its strategic research alliance with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited("TPC"). in the area of major depression.

Many chronic human diseases are heterogeneous where patients appear clinically similar but respond differently to different treatment regimes. This may indicate the existence of several patient subgroups within these disease populations. Companion diagnostics aim to identify each patient's subgroup and thereby target the best treatment for each individual. Through the use of its proprietary technology platform Homomatrix®, Curidium is able to classify patients into subgroups characterized by distinct underlying disease mechanisms, potentially leading to the identification of highly valuable assets for drug developers such as :

·; Companion diagnostics to facilitate accurate clinical diagnosis and more effective treatment strategies for heterogeneous disease populations

·; Improved therapies for each patient subgroup identified through novel drug targets

·; Personalized medicines using companion diagnostics and targeted treatments

Curidium entered into a major research project with TPC in late 2007 following a strategic investment by Takeda's venture arm, Takeda Research Investment, Inc. with the aim of tailoring drug treatments for people with depression. Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide affecting around 15% of the population in developed countries. Major depressive disorder is one of the most prevalent psychiatric illnesses and only 25 - 40% of patients achieve clinical remission with currently available antidepressants. Consequently, by identifying biomarkers for subpopulations of patients with depression, the project was designed to provide information that could lead to tailored drug treatments for specific individuals and improve patient outcomes.

The project has recently been completed and the discovery of patient subgroups by Curidium's analysis is a validation of Homomatrix® which will support Curidium in its efforts to expand its activities and revenue generation in this rapidly growing area of personalised medicine.

Smita Price, Managing Director & Head of Research at Curidium said:

"I am thrilled with the outcome of our research collaboration with Takeda. The discovery of patient subpopulations with common molecular mechanisms could potentially have a significant impact on the development of improved treatments for patients with depression."

Alastair Smith, Chief Executive, Avacta Group plc, commented:

"Personalised medicine and companion diagnostics are without doubt an area of significant growth and future value, and Avacta is now well placed to devise companion diagnostics and to develop proprietary technology on which such diagnostic tests could be delivered".

14 October 2010

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About Avacta

Avacta was spun-out from the University of Leeds in 2004 by its current management team as a biophysics company, with the aim of combining the disciplines of physics and biology to develop innovative technologies and expert technical services to address unmet needs in the biopharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

Avacta has a core bio-analytical technology development programme addressing the needs of the biopharmaceutical sector to fully characterise their new products at the earliest stage in their development to reduce the risk of late stage failure.

High end analytical instruments and leading edge contract research services are being provided to the biopharmaceutical and healthcare/personal-care materials sectors through the Group's biotech support division, Avacta Analytical. High value solutions for rapid, point of care diagnostics based on these core bio-analytical technologies, with a near term focus on veterinary diagnostics, are being delivered through Avacta Animal Health. Longer term these technologies will be transferred into the human clinical diagnostics market. Avacta joined AIM in August 2006.