Avacta has announced a second milestone equity payment has been triggered resulting in an increase in its shareholding in AffyXell Therapeutics, a joint venture between Avacta and Daewoong Pharmaceutical.

Avacta has successfully developed and characterised Affimer proteins against the second target of interest for AffyXell and has filed a patent application for the associated intellectual property triggering the second milestone. The second milestone will result in an increase in Avacta’s shareholding in AffyXell, which currently stands at 19 per cent.

The exact shareholding will be determined, as with the first milestone payment which was achieved in April 2022, following a formal valuation of AffyXell.

Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Avacta Group, said: “We are delighted that such rapid progress has been made with the second target in our joint venture in South Korea. There is great potential for AffyXell’s novel, engineered mesenchymal stem cell platform incorporating Avacta’s Affimer® technology to deliver significant improvements to the standard of care for patients with serious diseases.

“We continue to work closely with our colleagues at AffyXell and Daewoong to advance this cutting edge therapeutic platform.”

Avacta 'delighted' with rapid progress in South Korean cell therapy partnership