Avacta completes fifth dose escalation in chemotherapy trial

Life sciences company Avacta announced the successful completion of the fifth dose escalation cohort in the phase 1 clinical trial for AVA6000 on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm said the trial was aiming to evaluate the safety and tolerability of AVA6000 - a targeted chemotherapy drug it had developed.

It said the fifth cohort in the trial received a dose of AVA6000 around 2.25 times higher than the standard dose of doxorubicin.

Despite the increased dosage, the patients demonstrated good tolerance, with a marked reduction in the incidence and severity of the side effects commonly associated with standard doxorubicin chemotherapy.

Notably, several patients from the fifth cohort and earlier cohorts were continuing to receive treatment, as their disease had not progressed.

“The continued positive safety profile of AVA6000 at these dose levels compared with standard doxorubicin is remarkable,” said chief executive officer Dr Alastair Smith.

“We are seeing a significant reduction in the incidence and severity of all doxorubicin side effects.

“Analysis of the tumour biopsies to date also confirms that enough doxorubicin is being released in the tumour to have a therapeutic effect.”

Dr Smith said that if even higher doses of AVA6000 were tolerated, it could make a significant difference to the outcomes for patients in the upcoming efficacy study.

“We are keen to progress onto the phase 1b efficacy study as soon as possible following completion of the dose finding phase 1a study.

“The dose expansion Phase 1b study will provide an initial evaluation of efficacy and of the relative improvement in patient outcomes and quality of life of different dosing regimens of AVA6000 compared with the standard doxorubicin regimen.”

At 1332 BST, shares in Avacta Group were up 7.99% at 113.93p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.