Re Agreement

Oxford Biomedica PLC
25 July 2002

25 July 2002



OXFORD BIOMEDICA PLC AND ARUIS RESEARCH INC.

SIGN COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMME IN TUMOUR IMMUNOTHERAPY



Oxford, United Kingdom and Toronto, Canada - 25 July 2002. Oxford BioMedica plc
(LSE:OXB) ('BioMedica') and ARIUS Research Inc ('ARIUS) of Canada announced
today a research and development collaboration to search for targets and develop
novel products to treat cancer.



Under the collaboration ARIUS will supply BioMedica with a range of 50
functional anti-tumour antibodies that it has identified using a unique novel
approach. BioMedica will characterise the antibodies and identify the cognate
antigens by employing a range of proprietary technologies from its gene
discovery and immunotherapy programmes. The antigens and antibodies will be
developed for use in immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of cancer.
New products, such as vaccines or therapeutic antibodies, will be developed by
the two companies or in conjunction with pharmaceutical partners.



The appetite, within the pharmaceutical industry for cancer therapies that make
use of tumour specific antibodies or vaccines is increasing substantially. It
has been estimated that the therapeutic antibody market alone will have grown to
$4 billion by the end of 2002 and is set to rise steadily over the next 10
years. BioMedica is already a significant player in this field with its $24
million antibody deal with Wyeth and its very successful clinical trial results
with the Company's proprietary therapeutic vaccine TroVax(R). BioMedica has both
the technical skills to develop these products and the business development
experience to market them to larger pharmaceutical companies. If successful,
TroVax(R) could reach the market in 4-5 years with sales exceeding $1 billion.
Similarly, the Wyeth collaboration could yield a product of similar significance
within a comparable time frame. The new collaboration between BioMedica and
ARIUS is designed to provide a pipeline of cancer immunotherapy products that
will be marketed jointly to the industry once proof of principle is established.
The first output from the collaboration is expected within a year.



Commenting on the collaboration, BioMedica's chief executive, Prof. Alan
Kingsman said:

'This is a excellent opportunity for Oxford BioMedica. The collaboration with
ARIUS offers the unique ability to generate novel cancer immunotherapy products
by utilising our in-house immunology and gene discovery platforms alongside
ARIUS' novel technology for discovering functional antibodies'.



Commenting on the collaboration ARIUS's chief executive, David Young said:

'ARIUS is delighted at the prospect of a collaborative development with Oxford
BioMedica as one that will add value to our core expertise in functional
antibody generation by characterising the target antigens.'



Background.

It is now well established that tumours display unique proteins or over-express
normal proteins on their surface that can act as antigens or targets for the
immune system. They are called Tumour Associated Antigens (TAA's). Normally the
immune system fails to react to these proteins and an immune response is not
normally observed in cancer. However, it is possible using immunotherapy to
target these antigens either using therapeutic antibodies or vaccines and
generate a therapeutic anti-cancer response. ARIUS has produced functional
antibodies against tumour tissues that are the subject of this collaboration.
Oxford BioMedica has expertise in the identification of TAA's and the
development of antibody and vaccine therapies for the treatment of cancer.



                                     -Ends-



For further information, please contact:



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

City/Financial Enquiries:
Mike Wort, James Chandler: Beattie Financial    Tel: [phone]

Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:
Sue Charles, Katja Stout: Charles Consultants   Tel: [phone]


Notes to Editors



1.                   Oxford BioMedica plc


Established in 1995 as a spin out from Oxford University, Oxford BioMedica is an
international biotechnology company with a diverse portfolio of products and
technology, specialising in gene-based products and technology in the areas of
cancer, neurological disease, cardiovascular disease and blood disorders. This
is underpinned by over 70 patent families, about quarter of which are issued.
Oxford BioMedica plc was floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the
London Stock Exchange in December 1996, and was promoted to the United Kingdom
Listing Authority Official List in April 2001 following a successful £35.5
million fund-raising.



Oxford BioMedica is headquartered in Oxford, UK and has a wholly-owned
subsidiary in San Diego, USA



Currently Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with Aventis, IDM,
Amersham, Valentis, Virbac and Wyeth. BioMedica has two products in Phase I/II
clinical trials: MetXia(R) for late-stage breast cancer, and TroVax(R) for
late-stage colorectal cancer.





2.         About ARIUS Research



ARIUS Research Inc. is a medical biotechnology company committed to the rapid
discovery and development of functional anti-cancer antibodies. To date, through
its proprietary approach to antibody generation, ARIUS has established a library
of over 100 functional antibodies. Current research is focused on breast,
colorectal, lung cancer and melanoma. Working independently and through
partnerships, ARIUS intends to expand its research into related areas, including
other gastro-intestinal cancers, ovarian and prostate cancers. The long term
vision of the company is to deliver personalised therapy through groups of
monoclonal antibodies. Shares of ARIUS Research Inc. are traded on the Canadian
Venture Exchange under the symbol 'YAR'





3.       World Wide Web



Further information is available on the World Wide Web at 
http://www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk  and at www.ariusresearch.com.




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