Avacta hails partnership success

Diagnostics specialist Avacta has revealed its Affirmer technology has been proven to work on a major testing platform.
Alistair Smith, chief executive of Avacta  (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)Alistair Smith, chief executive of Avacta  (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
Alistair Smith, chief executive of Avacta (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

Avacta’s Affirmer technology - a synthetic alternative to antibodies - has been developed by partner ProtATonce to be used on Luminex, a widely-used multi-test platform worth £177m a year.

In February, Wetherby-based Avacta announced the deal with ProtATonce to provide a range of Affimers to be used in kits to enable large numbers of tests to be conducted on a single sample at the same time.

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At the time, the firm said the kits could be capable of carrying out up to 500 tests in one experiment, which is impossible using antibodies.

ProATonce revealed its results at the Biomarker Summit Europe in Berlin on October 5.

Dr Alastair Smith, chief executive of Avacta , said: “I am delighted with the collaboration with ProtATonce and the progress that they have made in setting up the assays and evaluating Affimers on the Luminex platform.

“It is critical at this early stage of commercialisation of Affimer reagents that they perform well in the hands of collaborators and customers and the number of such examples are building quickly.”

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Dr Leonidas Alexopoulos, chief executive ProtATonce, said Affirmers are a great alternative to antibodies that are yielding exciting results.

Avacta has entered into a number of commercial partnerships this year, including deals with pharmaceuticals firm PhoreMost and US biotech business Moderna Therapeutics.

In July, it raised up to £22m through a share placing as part of a strategy that could cut the cost of drug development.