Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) is set for patent protection for its Affimer technology in China, one of the world’s largest therapeutic antibody markets.
The principal patent protecting the Affimer technology has been accepted, said the company. Counterparts to this patent have already been granted in the US, Europe and Japan.
Alastair Smith, Avacta’s chief executive said: "The grant of a robust patent to cover the core Affimer intellectual property in China adds further strength to our global intellectual property position.
“We continue to develop the core technology and I look forward to updating the market regarding further expansion of our Affimer intellectual property estate in due course."
Affimers are proteins engineered to bind strongly and specifically to a target of interest such as another protein or virus. This binding ability is the core invention covered by Avacta's intellectual property.
Avacta is licensing the technology to developers of diagnostic and research products to build a pipeline of drugs both in-house and with partners.