Avacta Group
plc
("Avacta"
or "the Group" or "the Company")
Avacta Group strengthens
executive team with appointment of Michelle Morrow,
PhD as Chief Scientific Officer
London, Oct. 15, 2024 - Avacta Group plc (AIM:
AVCT), a
life sciences company developing innovative, targeted oncology
drugs, today announced the appointment of seasoned scientific
leader Michelle Morrow, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer with effect
from November 4, 2024. Dr. Morrow brings nearly 20 years'
experience in oncology therapeutics and antibody research at both
biotech and pharmaceutical companies. She will fill a key role in
the management team at Avacta as the Company evolves into a
therapeutics-focused biotech. She most recently served at invoX
Pharma as Senior Vice President (SVP), Head of invoX Therapeutics
Innovation, leading a discovery and preclinical research team that
was established following the Company's acquisition of F-star
Therapeutics, where she held the position of SVP, Head of
Research.
Christina Coughlin, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of
Avacta, commented: "We are thrilled
to welcome Michelle to the team, she brings decades of experience
in translating early science into innovative and effective
medicines for patients. Michelle's scientific leadership is
exemplified by an outstanding track record in advancing novel
oncology candidates from target validation through preclinical
research to Phase 2 clinical proof-of-concept. Michelle will be a
significant asset to the Avacta team in driving our programs
forward and we look forward to benefiting from her wealth of
expertise."
Michelle Morrow, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer designate of
Avacta, commented: "I am delighted
to join Avacta at such an exciting time in its development. The
progress made in the AVA6000 clinical trial, and the potential of
the pre|CISION™ platform are very exciting. I look forward to
leveraging my experience in oncology drug development to help
further drive the Company's pipeline and explore the full potential
of our therapies to benefit patients' lives."
During her time at F-star, Dr.
Morrow made significant contributions to progressing bispecific
candidates from discovery and into clinical trials and led F-star's
biology and translational research functions. Prior to that, she
established an immuno-oncology preclinical modelling group
supporting projects across the Medimmune and AstraZeneca portfolio
and held Discovery Project Leader roles for Imfinzi®, an
approved anti-PD-L1 antibody, and volrustomig, an anti- PD-1/CTLA-4
bispecific antibody.
Dr. Morrow earned her PhD in
Immunology from the University of Cambridge, UK and conducted
post-doctoral research into childhood leukaemia at the Institute of
Child Health, London.
-Ends-
For
further information from Avacta Group plc, please
contact:
About Avacta Group plc - https://avacta.com/
Avacta Group is a UK-based
life sciences company focused on improving healthcare outcomes
through targeted cancer treatments and diagnostics.
Avacta Therapeutics: a clinical
stage oncology biotech division that is harnessing the proprietary
pre|CISION platform technology to develop novel, highly targeted
cancer drugs.
The pre|CISION™ platform is a highly
specific substrate for fibroblast activation protein (FAP) which is
upregulated in most solid tumors compared with healthy tissues. The
pre|CISION™ platform harnesses this tumor specific protease to
cleave pre|CISION™ peptide drug conjugates and pre|CISION™
antibody/Affimer® drug conjugates in the tumor
microenvironment, thus releasing active payload in the tumor and
reducing systemic exposure and toxicity, allowing dosing to be
optimized to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
The lead pre|CISION™ program AVA6000, a peptide drug
conjugate form of doxorubicin, is in Phase 1 studies. It has shown
an improvement in safety and tolerability in clinical trials to
date compared with standard doxorubicin and preliminary signs of
clinical activity in multiple patients.
Avacta Diagnostics focuses on
supporting healthcare professionals and broadening access to
diagnostics.
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