Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) expects to pick up a first licensing deal for Affirmer, its alternative to antibodies, this year.
Orders in 2016 rose by 70% as more life science company customers started to evaluate the technology and chief executive Alastair Smith expects some of these now to convert into licences.
“While it will take time for these evaluations to conclude, it is reasonable to expect to see the first of these in 2017,“ he said.
He added that the first in vivo studies of Affirmer were huge steps forward and had de-risked the platform considerably as they demonstrated the efficacy, tolerability and suitable pharmacokinetics properties of Affimer molecules.
“Our collaborations with partners such as Moderna, Glythera and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre provide additional opportunities to develop therapeutic applications of the Affimer technology.”
Evaluations and collaborations are ongoing with four out of the top ten large pharma, more than 20 other biotech and research tools companies and several diagnostics companies.
Avacta added it takes around six months to a year, or longer, depending on the nature of the application with projects underway in a point-of–care diagnostic tests and ubiquitination (making proteins inactive).
No numbers were released with the statement but Avacta said that half year revenue, operating losses and cash balances were in line with market forecasts.
“We start 2017 with great enthusiasm," said Smith.
House broker finncap said that the orders demonstrate the progress made over the past 12 months which – together with the anticipated newsflow over the next quarter – increase, the likelihood that Avacta agreeing a value-enhancing licence deal in 2017.
The broker's target price remains 200p compared to the market price of 71p.
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