Agreement to develop Trovax
Oxford Biomedica PLC
28 March 2007
For Immediate Release 28 MARCH 2007
Analyst meeting:
An analyst briefing will be held at 11.45 am today at the offices of Buchanan
Communications, 45 Moorfields, London EC2Y 9AE.
Web cast:
Simultaneously to the analyst briefing at 11.45 am, there will be a live audio
web cast of the presentation. To connect to the web cast facility, please go to
the Company's website: http://www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk/ approximately 10
minutes (11.35 am) before the start of the briefing. This will also be available
for replay shortly after the presentation.
OXFORD BIOMEDICA AND SANOFI-AVENTIS ENTER GLOBAL LICENSING
AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP AND COMMERCIALISE TROVAX(R) FOR CANCER
Oxford, UK - 28 March 2007: Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) and sanofi-aventis
(EURONEXT: SAN; NYSE: SNY) announced today that they have entered into an
exclusive global licensing agreement to develop and commercialise TroVax(R) for
the treatment and prevention of cancers.
TroVax(R) is Oxford BioMedica's lead cancer immunotherapy. It has been evaluated
in clinical trials involving more than 180 patients with various forms of
cancer. A Phase III trial in renal cancer is ongoing.
Under the terms of this agreement:
• Sanofi-aventis will pay Oxford BioMedica up to €518 million (approximately
US$690 million) if all development and registration targets are met for
certain defined indications. Additional payments will be made if regulatory
milestones are achieved in other cancer types.
• Oxford BioMedica will receive an initial payment of €29 million
(approximately US$39 million) and further near-term payments of €19 million
(approximately US$25 million) as milestones linked to the ongoing Phase III
TRIST study in renal cancer.
• Oxford BioMedica is also entitled to escalating royalties on global
sales of TroVax(R) and to further undisclosed commercial milestones when net
sales of TroVax(R) reach certain levels.
• Oxford BioMedica has an option to develop TroVax(R) for other cancer
types in exchange for enhanced financial returns, and sanofi-aventis will
keep all commercial rights.
• Oxford BioMedica will supply TroVax(R) to sanofi-aventis on commercial
terms.
• Oxford BioMedica and sanofi-aventis will co-fund the ongoing Phase III
TRIST study of TroVax(R) in renal cancer.
• Sanofi-aventis will fund all future research, development, regulatory
and commercialisation activities, including the immediate implementation of
a development plan for TroVax(R) in metastatic colorectal cancer.
• Sanofi-aventis will be responsible for the global commercialisation of
TroVax(R) and will book the sales worldwide. Oxford BioMedica retains an
option to participate in the promotion of TroVax(R) in the United States and
the European Union.
TroVax(R) may be developed by sanofi-aventis as a treatment for any cancer type.
Based on the broad distribution of the 5T4 tumour antigen, TroVax(R) has
potential application in a wide range of solid tumours, including renal,
colorectal, lung, breast and prostate cancer.
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive of Oxford BioMedica, commented: 'We are
delighted to have sanofi-aventis as our partner for TroVax(R) given their broad
expertise, experience and resources in oncology and their long standing
world-class research and development capabilities in cancer immunology. We look
forward to working with our new partner to advance the development and
commercialisation of TroVax(R) and, importantly, to provide cancer patients with
new treatment options.'
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc: Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive
Buchanan Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000
City/Financial Enquiries:
Lisa Baderoon Mob: +44 (0) 7721 413 496
Mary-Jane Johnson Mob: +44 (0) 7780 600 290
Northbank Communications
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0)20 7268 3002
Gemma Price/ Holly Griffiths/ Katja Stout
Notes to editors
1. Oxford BioMedica
Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the
development of novel gene-based therapeutics 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.
Oxford BioMedica has core expertise in gene delivery, as well as in-house
clinical, regulatory and manufacturing know-how. In oncology, the pipeline
includes two clinical candidates and a preclinical targeted antibody therapy,
which is being developed in collaboration with Wyeth. Oxford BioMedica's lead
cancer immunotherapy product, TroVax, has been evaluated in clinical trials
involving more than 180 patients with various forms of cancer. A Phase III trial
in renal cancer is ongoing. In neurotherapy, the Company's lead product,
ProSavin, is expected to enter clinical trials in Parkinson's disease in 2007.
The preclinical pipeline includes gene-based products for vision loss, motor
neuron disease and nerve repair. The recent acquisition of Oxxon Therapeutics
adds a Phase II cancer vaccine for melanoma as well as a platform for other
applications in cancer and infectious diseases.
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 85 split between its main facilities in Oxford and its wholly
owned subsidiary, BioMedica Inc, in San Diego, California. In addition to the
TroVax collaboration with sanofi-aventis, Oxford BioMedica has corporate
collaborations with Wyeth, Intervet, Sigma-Aldrich, Viragen, MolMed and Virxsys;
and has licensed technology to a number of companies including Merck & Co,
Biogen Idec, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.
Further information is available at www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk
2. Sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis is one of the world leaders in the pharmaceutical industry,
ranking number one in Europe. Backed by a world-class R&D organisation,
sanofi-aventis is developing leading positions in seven major therapeutic areas:
cardiovascular, thrombosis, oncology, metabolic diseases, central nervous
system, internal medicine and vaccines. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris
(EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
3. TroVax(R)
TroVax is Oxford BioMedica's leading cancer immunotherapy product. It is
designed specifically to stimulate an anti-cancer immune response and has
potential application in most solid tumour types. TroVax targets the tumour
antigen 5T4, which is broadly distributed throughout a wide range of solid
tumours. The presence of 5T4 is correlated with poor prognosis. The product
consists of a poxvirus (MVA) gene transfer system, which delivers the gene for
5T4 and stimulates a patient's body to produce an anti-5T4 immune response. This
immune response destroys tumour cells carrying the 5T4.
Over 180 patients have been treated with TroVax in clinical trials in renal,
colorectal and prostate cancer. TroVax has been safe and well tolerated in all
trials to date. There have been no serious adverse events related to the
product. The clinical data show that over 95% of patients treated with TroVax
mount an anti-tumour immune response to the 5T4 tumour antigen, and, in a number
of clinical studies, there is a strong correlation between the level of the
immune response elicited by TroVax and the clinical benefit to patients. In
2006, Oxford BioMedica started a Phase III trial of TroVax in renal cancer. The
product has attracted support from Cancer Research UK, the US National Cancer
Institute, and the UK clinical trials network, QUASAR. These organisations are
conducting or plan to conduct clinical trials with TroVax.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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