Pre-Close Trading Statement

Avacta Group plc                                

                           Pre-close Trading Update                            

Avacta Group plc ("Avacta" or the "Company"), the biophysics company which
provides innovative high value technologies and services to the pharmaceutical
and diagnostics markets, is pleased to announce a trading update for the year
ended 31 July 2009.

The second half of the year saw the launch of Optim, Avacta's flagship product.
Optim is a revolutionary bench top instrument which provides drug developers
with vital information at an early stage of the drug development process and
has the potential to dramatically reduce the overall cost of bringing drugs to
market. Avacta has received strong positive response from its initial sales and
marketing activity and has consequently developed a validated pipeline of lead
customers that support its sales targets for FY2010.

The coming months will see further commercial promotion of Optim with a number
of in-house demonstrations at customer sites and forthcoming trade exhibitions.
In addition, in keeping with the Company's transition towards commercial
product sales, the Company has appointed a Sales and Marketing Director with
considerable sector experience and a specific mandate to drive sales of Optim
and Avacta's widely regarded analytical services.

The recently acquired YorkTest Veterinary Services has been successfully
integrated into Avacta's York base with sales 14% up on the same period last
year despite the current poor economic climate. YorkTest Veterinary services
has now changed its name to Avacta Animal Health to underline the aggressive
plans for expansion of this business beyond its historical core testing
services. As part of this expansion, Avacta Animal Health has just launched a
new genetic test and is working with the Avacta product development team on the
new rapid diagnostic product, Midas, which is expected to launch late in 2009
as planned.

Avacta's trace gas analysis technology is also advancing. A prototype product
was delivered to an industry partner this week following successful testing at
Avacta's Oxford site, thus paving the way for the industry partner to develop a
production model. The successful integration of Oxford Medical Diagnostics into
the Avacta Group will be completed this summer as the team in Oxford move to
the York site.

A full review of developments and achievements across Avacta's two target
markets and multiple product offerings will be provided at the time of the
preliminary results expected in October. In the meantime Avacta continues to
seek further consolidating acquisitions to establish the Company as a
significant provider of products and services to support businesses in the Life
Sciences sector.

                                                                  7 August 2009

Enquiries:

Avacta Group plc                       Tel: [phone]                    
                                                                             
Alastair Smith, Chief Executive        www.avacta.com                        
Officer                                                                      
                                                                             
Haggie Financial LLP                   Tel: [phone]                    
                                                                             
Kathy Boate                            [e-mail]              
                                                                             
Nominated Adviser:                     Tel: [phone]                    
                                                                             
Daniel Stewart & Company Plc                                                 
                                                                             
Charlotte Stranner/Simon Leathers                                            
                                                                             
Novum Securities Limited               Tel: [phone]                    
                                                                             
Henry Turcan                                                                 

Notes to Editors:

About Avacta

Avacta was spun-out from the University of Leeds in 2004 by its current
management team as a biophysics company, with the aim of combining the
disciplines of physics and biology to develop innovative technologies and
expert technical services to address needs in the pharmaceutical, defence and
clinical diagnostics markets. Avacta has a core bio-analytical technology
development programme addressing the needs of the biopharmaceutical sector to
fully characterise their new products at the earliest stage in their
development to reduce the risk of late stage failure. High value solutions in
defence and clinical diagnostics are also being provided by these core
bio-analytical technologies. A successful and growing part of the Avacta
business model is its technical services arm, Avacta Analytical Ltd, which is
focused on providing leading edge contract research to the biopharmaceutical
and healthcare/personal-care materials sectors. Avacta listed on AIM in August
2006.