Life sciences company Avacta Group revealed on Monday that its clinical stage oncology biotech division Avacta Therapeutics Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT) has entered into a strategic collaboration with technology company Tempus AI Inc (Nasdaq: TEM) to advance artificial intelligence applications in drug development for oncology.

This partnership grants Avacta access to Tempus' extensive multimodal datasets, which include primary tumour samples and clinical data from over 200,000 cancer patients.

The collaboration aims to deepen the understanding of the tumour microenvironment and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) activity, foundational elements of Avacta's pre|CISION technology. This platform targets potent anti-tumour payloads directly to tumours, minimising exposure to healthy tissues.

Additionally, Avacta has expanded its pre|CISION platform with two new preclinical programs: AVA6103, a peptide drug conjugate using exatecan, and AVA7100, a first-in-class Affimer drug conjugate designed for cancers with varying FAP expression. These programs underscore the platform's versatility in addressing diverse cancer indications.

The collaboration will leverage Tempus's analytical expertise to refine patient population identification for Avacta's clinical programs. Avacta's lead program, AVA6000, a peptide drug conjugate of doxorubicin, is currently in Phase 1 trials, showing improved safety and preliminary clinical activity compared to standard doxorubicin.

Avacta Group is committed to enhancing healthcare outcomes through targeted cancer treatments and diagnostics, utilising its proprietary pre|CISION technology to develop innovative cancer therapies.