# Avacta Group CEO Alastair Smith Looking to develop further COVID19 testing kit partnerships (Interview)

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/avacta-group-ceo-alastair-smith-looking-to-develop-further-covid19-testing-kit-partnerships-interview/412815461
- Published: 2020-04-24T11:17:22+01:00
- Author: Giles Arbor

**[Avacta](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/company/avacta-group-plc/avct.l)
Group plc** ([LON:AVCT](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/ftse-company/avacta-group-plc/avct.l))
CEO Alastair Smith joins DirectorsTalk to discuss the news that in just 4 weeks 
its successfully generated multiple Affimer reagents that bind the SARS-COV-2 viral
antigen as part of the collaboration with Cytiva. Alastair reminds us what the partnership
entails, explains what this now means and what we can expect from the collaboration
and company going forward.

Avacta is developing novel cancer immunotherapies combining its two proprietary 
platforms – Affimer^(®) biotherapeutics and pre|CISION™ tumour targeted chemotherapy.
With this approach, the Company aims to address the lack of a durable response to
current immunotherapies experienced by most patients. The Company’s therapeutics
development activities are based in Cambridge, UK.

The Company benefits from near-term revenues generated from Affimer reagents for
diagnostics, bioprocessing and research, through a separate business unit based 
in Wetherby, UK.

The Affimer platform is an alternative to antibodies derived from a small human 
protein. Despite their shortcomings, antibodies currently dominate markets worth
in excess of $100bn.  Affimer technology has been designed to address many of these
negative performance issues, principally: the time taken, and the reliance on an
animal’s immune response, to generate new antibodies; poor specificity in many cases;
large size and cost. 

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