Avacta Group (AVCT) filed an application for a block listing of 5,500,000 ordinary shares of 10 pence each on AIM, with the admission expected to become effective on 2 June 2026.
The new shares will be issued from time to time to cover potential share issues arising from the exercise of employee options under the company’s Long Term Incentive Plan and Employee Stock Option Scheme.
They will rank pari passu with existing stock in all respects, and Avacta Group will report on the use of the block admission every six months in line with its obligations under AIM Rule 29.
At the time of the announcement, the company had 457,892,574 ordinary shares in issue.
Avacta Group also released updated Phase 1a/1b data for its lead oncology asset faridoxorubicin (AVA6000) at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago on 1 June, adding further newsflow to what is shaping up as a significant period for the company.
The ASCO data showed a 92% disease control rate across 38 evaluable patients in the salivary gland cancer expansion cohort, with four partial responses and nine minor responses observed. Nine patients remain on treatment and a further 11 are in follow-up for disease progression.
Across 111 patients treated, no severe cardiac toxicity events were reported and changes in left ventricular ejection fraction remained minimal. Investigators have removed the traditional lifetime cumulative dose limit associated with conventional doxorubicin, with the company noting this followed careful analysis of drug concentration versus effect on the heart.
The company said the consistency of Phase 1a and 1b data supports the potential for AVA6000 to move to later-stage trials, with further data from the programme expected at the BIO International Convention in San Diego, taking place 22-25 June 2026.
With 457.9 million shares now in issue and a market cap of approximately £375m, AVCT has travelled a long way from its 52-week low of 26p, with the share price touching a high of 92p over the same period – a run built almost entirely on clinical progress.