Exclusive License Agreement

Oxford Biomedica PLC
07 January 2008



For immediate release                                             7 January 2008




OXFORD BIOMEDICA SECURES EXCLUSIVE LICENCE TO KEY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FOR RNA
          INTERFERENCE GENE SILENCING USING LENTIVECTOR(R) TECHNOLOGY

Oxford, UK: 7 January 2008: Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB), a leading gene therapy
company, announced today that it has signed a license agreement with the
Carnegie Institution of Washington and the University of Massachusetts Medical
School that grants the Company rights to key RNA interference (RNAi) technology
invented by Nobel Prize-winning scientists Andrew Z. Fire, PhD, and Craig C.
Mello, PhD. The rights granted are exclusive for RNAi gene silencing using
lentiviral vector technology for human gene therapy applications, including
Oxford BioMedica's proprietary LentiVector system. Under the terms of the
license agreement Oxford BioMedica will pay an upfront payment, milestone
payments and royalties on sales. These rights will run concurrently with the
rights of the existing licensees of the RNAi technology. Further details were
not disclosed.

The concept of gene silencing in mammalian cells using short pieces of RNA was
first published by Fire and Mello and colleagues in 1998 (see Nature volume 391,
February 19, 1998). For this ground-breaking work they were awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006. The discovery of RNAi has created a new
paradigm of drug discovery and potential therapeutics. Lentiviral vectors are
already used extensively in drug discovery research for delivery of RNAi to a
range of different cell types. Oxford BioMedica has licensed its LentiVector
patents for research use in this area to many companies together with its
corporate partner Sigma Aldrich.

In a separate agreement, also announced today, the Carnegie Institution of
Washington and the University of Massachusetts have agreed to subscribe for a
total of 2,369,818 ordinary shares of 1p each at £0.24 per share. Application
will be made to the United Kingdom Listing Authority ('UKLA') for the newly
issued ordinary shares in Oxford BioMedica to be admitted to the Official List
of the UKLA and to the London Stock Exchange plc for admission to trading on its
market for listed securities. The shares are expected to commence trading on 10
January 2008.

Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive of Oxford BioMedica, commented: 'There
is growing acceptance that to develop RNAi therapeutics, an effective delivery
system is essential and increasingly lentiviral vectors are becoming the system
of choice for this purpose. Oxford BioMedica, with its broad LentiVector patent
portfolio and its expertise in developing LentiVector-based products, is
therefore well positioned to develop a range of novel RNAi therapeutics either
independently or in collaboration with other companies.'

James P. McNamara, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Office of Technology
Management of the University of Massachusetts Medical School commented: 'As the
Medical School looks toward the convergence of RNAi, gene therapy, and cellular
therapy, including stem cells as medical treatments, the potential drug
development opportunities presented by Oxford BioMedica's lentiviral vector
delivery technology is intriguing to us. We have structured these license
agreements to help the company pursue novel applications of RNA interference
based on their established broad IP in the lentiviral vector delivery space. Our
hope is to see the further advancement of the RNAi field toward novel therapies
in the public interest.'


                                      -Ends-




For further information, please contact:

Oxford BioMedica plc:                                             Tel: [phone]
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive

JPMorgan Cazenove Limited                                         Tel: [phone]
James Mitford/Gina Gibson

City/Financial Enquiries:                                         Tel: [phone]
Lisa Baderoon/ Mark Court/ Mary-Jane Johnson Buchanan
Communications

Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:                                 Tel: [phone]
Gemma Price/ Holly Griffiths/ Katja Stout
College Hill Life Sciences


Notes to editors


1. Oxford BioMedica

Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the
development and commercialisation of novel therapeutic vaccines and gene-based
therapies with a focus on oncology and neurotherapy. The Company was established
in 1995 as a spin-out from Oxford University, and is listed on the London Stock
Exchange.


The Company has a platform of gene delivery technologies, which are based on
highly engineered viral systems. Oxford BioMedica also has in-house clinical,
regulatory and manufacturing know-how. In oncology, the lead product candidate
is TroVax(R), an immunotherapy for multiple solid cancers, which is licensed to
sanofi-aventis for global development and commercialisation. A Phase III trial
of TroVax in renal cancer is ongoing and two Phase III trials in colorectal
cancer are planned. Oxford BioMedica has two other anti-cancer product
candidates in Phase II development for melanoma and pancreatic cancer
respectively. In neurotherapy, the Company has initiated a Phase I/II trial of
its gene-based treatment for Parkinson's disease, ProSavin(R). The neurotherapy
pipeline also includes preclinical gene-based therapeutics for vision loss,
motor neuron disease and nerve repair.


The Company is underpinned by over 80 patent families, which represent one of
the broadest patent estates in the field. The Company has a staff of
approximately 80 split between its main facilities in Oxford and its wholly
owned subsidiary, BioMedica Inc, in San Diego, California. Corporate partners
include sanofi-aventis for TroVax and Wyeth for an anti-cancer targeted antibody
therapy. The Company also has collaborations with Sigma-Aldrich, MolMed and
Virxsys. Technology licensees include Biogen Idec, Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline
and Pfizer.


Further information is available at www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk



2. Carnegie Institution of Washington

The Carnegie Institution (www.CIW.edu) has been a pioneering force in basic
scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit organization with six
research departments throughout the U.S. Carnegie scientists are leaders in
plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global
ecology, and Earth and planetary science.


3. University of Massachusetts

The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest growing
academic health centers in the country, has built a reputation as a world-class
research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and
basic research.  The Medical School attracts more than $176 million in research
funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. UMMS
is the academic partner of UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest health care
provider in Central Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.umassmed.edu.










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