TIDMAVCT
RNS Number : 2193A
Avacta Group PLC
19 January 2024
19 January 2024
Avacta Group plc
("Avacta" or "the Group" or "the Company")
Appointment of Christina Coughlin, M.D., Ph.D. as Head of
Research and Development
Appointment marks the transition from a research organization to
a clinical stage biotechnology company
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a life sciences company developing
innovative, targeted oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics, is
pleased to announce that Christina Coughlin, M.D., Ph.D. will take
up the position of Head of Research and Development, overseeing all
clinical development and pre-clinical research activities of the
Therapeutics Division.
Dr. Coughlin has served as a Non-executive Director of Avacta
Group plc since March 2022 and has recently acted as Consultant
Medical Adviser to the Therapeutics Division. Chris trained as an
oncologist and immunologist and has been pivotal in driving the
clinical development strategy for AVA6000, Avacta's lead
pre|CISION(TM) tumour targeted therapy, and the broader drug
pipeline strategy at the Company. Dr. Coughlin will take up the
permanent post of Head of Research and Development on 1(st)
February, responsible for all pre-clinical research and clinical
development activities and pipeline strategy. Dr. Coughlin will
remain on the Avacta Board as an Executive Director.
Her early career began in large pharmaceutical companies
including Wyeth, Pfizer and Novartis. Christina has since held
several senior leadership roles in biotech companies including
Immunocore (NASDAQ: IMCR), Tmunity and Rubius where she was Chief
Medical Officer, leading clinical development, translational
medicine and regulatory efforts across the pipelines of those
companies. Most recently she served as the Chief Executive Officer
of Cytolmmune Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company
focused on the development of novel cancer immunotherapy
products.
Dr. Coughlin earned her M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of
Pennsylvania and trained in haematology and oncology at the
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Her post-doctoral research was
under Robert Vonderheide, M.D., D.Phil. in the Translational
Research Group at the University of Pennsylvania under the
direction of Carl June, M.D.
Avacta also announces that Dr. Fiona McLaughlin will step down
as Chief Scientific Officer of the Therapeutics Division after
three years in the role, during which she has contributed
significantly to the development of the Therapeutics Division and
its programmes. Fiona will continue to work with the Company
through a transitionary period.
Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group
commented:
"I am delighted that Chris will assume the full-time role of
Head of Research and Development. Chris brings deep oncology
research and development expertise combined with trans-Atlantic
C-level experience from which the entire business will benefit as
we evolve from a research organisation to one led by a strong
clinical focus.
"The outstanding safety data from the AVA6000 clinical study
that we recently presented validates the pre |CISION(TM) platform's
ability to deliver cancer drugs specifically to the tumour
microenvironment. This opens up tremendous opportunities to develop
truly innovative cancer medicines that improve outcomes for
patients and grow shareholder value.
"The Board and I would like to thank Fiona for her outstanding
contribution over the past few years. She has added significant
value to the therapeutic programmes and played a key role in
building the Therapeutic Division's operations. We all wish her the
very best in her future endeavours."
Dr Christina Coughlin, commented:
"I have dedicated my career to leading the development of
transformative and novel therapies for the treatment of patients
with cancer.
"The pipeline of cancer therapies at Avacta represents the next
frontier in oncology innovation and includes the potential to help
patients across multiple diseases, leveraging the tumour
microenvironment as a target.
"I am thrilled to join the team during such a pivotal time for
the company as we move our game-changing pipeline forward for the
benefit of patients."
- Ends-
For further information from Avacta Group plc, please
contact:
Avacta Group plc Tel: +44 (0) 1904 21 7070
Alastair Smith, Chief Executive www.avacta.com
Officer
Tony Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer
Michael Vinegrad, Group Communications
Director
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nomad Tel: +44 (0) 207 710 7600
and Joint Broker) www.stifel.com
Nicholas Moore / Nick Adams / Samira
Essebiyea / Nick Harland / William
Palmer-Brown
Peel Hunt (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 207 418 8900
James Steel / Chris Golden / Patrick www.peelhunt.com
Birkholm
ICR Consilium (Media and IR) avacta@consilium-comms.com
Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson
/ Sukaina Virji
About Avacta Group plc - https://www.avacta.com
Avacta Group is a UK-based company focused on improving
healthcare outcomes through targeted cancer treatments and
diagnostics.
Avacta has two divisions: an oncology biotech division
harnessing proprietary therapeutic platforms to develop novel,
highly targeted cancer drugs, and a diagnostics division, which is
executing on an M&A led growth strategy to create a
full-spectrum diagnostics business focused on supporting healthcare
professionals and broadening access to testing. Avacta's two
proprietary platforms, Affimer(R) and pre|CISION(TM) underpin its
cancer therapeutics whilst the diagnostics division leverages the
Affimer(R) platform to drive competitive advantage in its
markets.
The pre|CISION(TM) platform modifies chemotherapy to be
activated only in the tumour tissue, reducing systemic exposure and
toxicity. This is achieved by harnessing an enzyme called FAP which
is highly upregulated in most solid tumours compared with healthy
tissues, turning chemotherapy into a "precision medicine". The lead
pre|CISION(TM) programme, AVA6000 a tumour activated form of
doxorubicin, is in Phase 1 studies and has shown dramatic
improvement in safety compared with standard doxorubicin, and early
signs of clinical activity.
Affimer(R) is a novel biologic platform which has significant
technical and commercial advantages compared with antibodies and is
used both to develop advanced immunotherapies and to improve the
performance of immunodiagnostics.
With a balanced business and capital allocation model: a
high-value oncology pipeline supported by a revenue generating,
fast-growing diagnostics business, Avacta seeks to create long-term
shareholder value alongside patient benefit.
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END
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