Avacta Group (AIM:AVCT) said that collaborative work with the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow has shown Affimer reagents to prevent COVID-19 infection in human cells.
The developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents recently reported that there was significant potential for a therapy to prevent infection after it discovered several Affimer® reagents to block the interaction of the virus with ACE2, a key human cell surface receptor.
These “neutralising” Affimer reagents have now been shown to prevent a SARS-COV-2 model virus from entering human cells and therefore provide a potential therapy for COVID-19.
“This is critical information that will help to establish a license deal with a large pharmaceutical partner that has the resources to carry out an accelerated clinical development programme,” said Dr Alastair Smith, CEO of Avacta Group.
Affirmer reagents are believed to have greater key benefits compared with antibodies as a virus neutralising therapy due to their small size and high solubility.
This means a much higher concentration of Affimer molecules can be used in a drug to more effectively block the spike proteins on each virus particle and better protect the patient.
Shares in Avacta Group were trading 11.38% higher at 137p on Thursday morning.
Both bispecific and trispecific Affimer neutralising therapies, meaning the molecules bind to more than one part of the spike protein, could ensure the effectiveness of the neutralising therapy even if the virus’ spike protein mutates, this morning’s statement detailed.
“Neutralising therapies could be given to those exposed to the virus, such as health and social-care workers, to prevent infection, as well as to patients already infected by the virus, to help treat and prevent disease progression,” said Smith.
“There is ongoing significant investment by large pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim and others to develop neutralising therapies for COVID-19,” he added.
“There is significant interest around the world in neutralising therapies for COVID-19 given the uncertainties around the timeline for developing an effective vaccine and deploying it,” said Professor David Bhella, Professor of Structural Virology (Centre for Virus Research) at the University of Glasgow.
“Given the excellent performance of these novel reagents in the assays, and the other benefits of Affimer reagents, there should be considerable interest from potential partners in developing them as a therapy for COVID-19,” Bhella added.
Follow News & Updates from Avacta Group: