Date: 2016-06-13
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound: diagnostic tests using Avacta’s Affimer technology
Company: Avacta (UK) Mologic (UK)
Therapeutic area: Diagnostic
Type agreement: R&D development
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: * On June 13, 2016, Avacta, the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and research reagents, and Mologic, a specialist diagnostic development company, announced they have formed a collaborative partnership to develop diagnostic tests against multiple targets of clinical interest for point of care (POC) testing, using Avacta’s Affimer technology. Establishing commercial relationships in the POC testing market is one of Avacta’s key strategic objectives.
The non-exclusive collaboration with Mologic will focus on the development of novel Affimer-based diagnostic assays and the subsequent development of new lateral flow devices (LFDs) as POC diagnostics for human healthcare. Both companies will share in the future revenues from the commercialisation of the marketed diagnostics. Mologic, whose senior management team has a long track record of successfully bringing rapid tests to market, is a UK-based developer of POC solutions and has been developing lateral flow technology for well over a decade.
The development of Affimer-based LFDs will address many of the existing limitations of traditional antibody-based systems. Current lateral flow technology relies predominantly on antibody-based detection which can limit specificity and the detection of certain classes of target molecule. In addition, lengthy development times, combined with poor consistency and reproducibility often create manufacturing challenges. In comparison, the generation of Affimer molecules typically takes weeks rather than months, and as the process is based on tuneable, recombinant technology, Affimer reagents can be specifically engineered to a wide range of targets, in a highly consistent, reproducible and cost-effective process.
Financial terms:
Latest news:
