Gene Therapy Patent Obtained in the USA

Oxford Biomedica PLC
28 February 2000


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Oxford BioMedica plc
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive         Tel: [phone]
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                  OXFORD BIOMEDICA OBTAINS GENE THERAPY PATENT

                                   IN THE USA

Oxford, England - 28 February 2000. Oxford BioMedica announced today that it had
received  a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent Office for a patent  covering
broad  aspects  of  retroviral  and lentiviral vector  systems.  The  technology
covered  by  the patent enables BioMedica to create hybrid viruses that can be
used in Gene therapy products for a wide range of diseases.

Commenting on the news BioMedica's Chief Executive, Prof. Alan Kingsman said 'We
are, of course, pleased with the granting of this patent in the US although the
news came as no surprise. The Company is a leading player in this field and this
patent is one of a large family of patents covering many aspects of gene therapy
vector design and use. As our patents proceed through the examination process we
expect many more similar successes'
    
Notes to Editors

1.  Oxford BioMedica plc

    Established in 1995, the Company specialises in the development and
    application of gene-based therapeutics using advanced gene delivery
    technologies for the treatment of disease in the areas of Oncology,
    Viral Infection, Neurobiology and Genetic Deficiency, Oxford BioMedica plc
    was floated on the UK Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock
    Exchange in December 1996.

2.  Lentivirus vector systems
    In gene therapy, the aim is to deliver a gene and its necessary regulatory
    elements (the gene construct) to the call surface, using a vector to
    mediate the transfer across the cell membrane and, in some cases, into the
    nucleus. A new and potentially very powerful vector system is based on
    lentiviruses, which have similar features to retroviruses in the ease of
    manipulation, predictable Integration and reliable gene expression and      
   regulation.  However, their main advantage over retroviruses is the ability  
  to function in non-dividing cells or cells that are dividing slowly - a       
 feature of many clinically important tissues

3.  Types of lentiviruses
    Lentivirus vectors are constructed from two sources:
    -primate viruses e.g. human or simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV or SIV)
    -non-primate viruses e.g. feline and bovine immunodeficiency viruses
     (FIV and BIV), and one of the most simple, equine infective anaemia virus
     (EIAV)

4.   Worldwide web
     This release is also available on the Worldwide Web at
     http://www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk