Covid-19 tests boost value of bio firm
Wetherby-based Avacta Group has begun working with an American company to develop a Covid-19 test which would dramatically scale up capacity to diagnose large numbers of people.
Avacta, a listed developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and reagents Adeptrix, which is based in Massachusetts aim to devise a high throughput Covid-19 antigen test using, Adeptrix’s proprietary bead-assisted mass spectrometry (BAMS™) platform.
This is the latest in a series of Covid-19 work announcements by Avacta, which has seen the firm’s share price rise five-fold since the start of April, reaching a three year high on Tuesday.
Developing a antigen test will provide clinicians with a significant expansion of the available testing capacity for COVID-19 infection in hospitals.
Avacta explains: “The diagnostic test will allow hospitals around the world to utilise their existing installed base of mass spectrometers that are not currently used for COVID-19 testing, thus contributing significantly to the increase in global testing capacity.
“Avacta’s recently developed Affimer reagents that bind the SARS-COV-2 spike protein will be used to provide the capture and enrichment of the virus particle from the sample which could be saliva, nasopharyngeal swabs or serum.
“Development of a BAMS test capable of diagnosing whether a person has the COVID-19 infection at any specific moment is a quick process.”
The companies want to have a BAMS test ready for clinical validation, regulatory approval and manufacturing in June.
And they are already in discussion with large-scale manufacturing partners to rapidly deploy this test.
Dr Alastair Smith, chief executive officer of Avacta Group, said: “We are delighted to have established this partnership with Adeptrix.
“The BAMS diagnostic platform is highly sensitive and specific, giving us great confidence that a high performance COVID-19 antigen test can be developed and launched commercially very quickly.
“A consensus view is building around the world that hundreds of millions of COVID-19 tests are going to be required per month for a long period, and that the disease will be endemic after the initial pandemic has passed, meaning testing for COVID-19 is going to be needed for many years.
“I have made it clear we intend to partner the SARS-COV-2 spike protein Affimer reagents with several select companies to support antigen test development on multiple diagnostic test platforms.
“This will contribute most effectively to the urgent need to increase antigen testing capacity globally, and maximise the commercial return to Avacta.”
