Avacta In Collaboration Deal With Bruker To Evaluate BAMS SARS-CoV-2 Assay

(RTTNews) - Avacta Group plc (AVCT.L), a developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents, announced Thursday that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Bruker Corp. (BRKR) to evaluate the Affimer-based, bead assisted mass spectrometry or BAMS SARS-CoV-2 assay.

Avacta developed BAMS SARS-CoV-2 assay with U.S.-based Adeptrix Inc.

The collaboration with Bruker will assess the suitability of the test as a professional-use in-vitro diagnostic or IVD product for SARS-CoV-2 infection to run on Bruker's MALDI-TOF instruments for sale in the UK and Europe.

Avacta has worked with Adeptrix to develop a coronavirus antigen test that combines enrichment of the sample using Affimer reagents with the analytical power of mass-spectrometry.

The company noted that up to 1,000 samples per day can be analysed by a single technician using a BAMS assay, exceeding the capacity of the commonly used PCR machines. This makes BAMS a potentially very attractive high throughput technique for COVID-19 screening in the clinical setting.

Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Avacta Group, said, "I am delighted to have established this collaboration agreement with Bruker to further develop the potential for the BAMS COVID-19 test as a clinical IVD. We will be working closely with Bruker on the clinical assessment of the BAMS assay on Bruker's MALDI-TOF instruments."

Avacta has been working with its clinical partners in the UK to refine the assay to fit into the typical workflows in a clinical microbiology laboratory.

The company said its objective is to work with Bruker and other clinical partners to deliver an effective and high throughput assay protocol, that can be applied in the clinical setting, with the required sensitivity and specificity and CE/FDA approvals.