Gene Therapy for Blindness
Oxford Biomedica PLC
02 October 2006
For immediate release 2 October 2006
Oxford BioMedica
OXFORD BIOMEDICA EXPANDS ITS OCULAR PROGRAMME THROUGH COLLABORATION AND
INVESTMENT LED BY THE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS
Oxford, UK - 2nd October 2006: Oxford BioMedica (LSE:OXB), a leading
gene therapy company, and The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) through its
translational research arm National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI)
announced today that they have signed a research and collaboration agreement to
develop a portfolio of gene therapy products for the treatment of eye diseases.
This builds on the existing agreement with FFB signed in November 2003 for the
pre-clinical development of RetinoStat(R), Oxford BioMedica's product for the
treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and for which Oxford
BioMedica expects to file an IND application in 2007. The first product in the
expanded portfolio will be StarGen(TM)for the treatment of Stargardt disease, the
most common juvenile degenerative retinal disease.
Under the collaboration agreement and a separate share subscription agreement,
FFB and a consortium of investors will make an undisclosed upfront payment and
will also subscribe for up to $3.9m of Oxford BioMedica ordinary shares of
1penny each ('Ordinary Shares') to fund the development of StarGen. The share
subscription will be made in stages and priced at a 10% premium to the market
price at the time of investment. In return FFB and the consortium of investors
will receive a royalty on sales of StarGen.
Upon signing of the share subscription agreement, the Company has allotted and
issued 485,185 new Ordinary Shares at 33.0 pence per share. These new ordinary
shares rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued Ordinary Shares.
Application will today be made to the UK Listing Authority and to the London
Stock Exchange for these 485,185 new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to the
Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed
securities respectively. Admission is expected to become effective and dealings
in the new Ordinary Shares are expected to commence on 6 October 2006.
Commenting on the news, Oxford BioMedica's Chief Executive, Professor Alan
Kingsman said: 'We have a strong and successful working relationship with FFB
and we are delighted that they, together with a consortium of investors, have
recognised the broad potential of Oxford BioMedica's LentiVector(R) gene
delivery system for the treatment of a range of eye diseases. FFB support will
ensure that our expanded ocular programme will move quickly towards clinical
evaluation'
Gordon Gund, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board for the Foundation Fighting
Blindness, added: 'We are delighted that this partnership with Oxford BioMedica
is accelerating promising treatments for AMD, Stargardt disease, and other
retinal degenerative diseases into clinical trials. Our collaborations with
innovative biopharmaceutical companies such as Oxford BioMedica are greatly
enhancing our ability to get preventions, treatments, and cures out to the
millions of people who need them.'
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc:
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000
City/Financial Enquiries:
Lisa Baderoon/Mark Court/Mary-Jane Johnson Buchanan Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000
Communications
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:
Katja Stout/Gemma Bradley/Susan Yu Tel: +44 (0)20 7886 8150
Northbank Communications
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 candidates in multiple Phase II trials, and a preclinical targeted
antibody therapy in collaboration with Wyeth. A Phase III trial in renal cancer
with TroVax, the lead cancer immunotherapy candidate, is expected to start in
the second half of 2006. In neurotherapy, the Company's lead product is a gene
therapy for Parkinson's disease, which is expected to enter clinical development
in 2006, and four further preclinical candidates. 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 70 split between its main facilities in
Oxford and its wholly owned subsidiary, BioMedica Inc, in San Diego, California.
Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with Wyeth, Intervet,
Sigma-Aldrich, Viragen, MolMed, VIRxSYS and Kiadis; and has licensed technology
to a number of companies including Merck & Co, Biogen Idec and Pfizer.
Further information is available at www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk
2. RetinoStat(R)
RetinoStat is Oxford BioMedica's novel gene-based treatment for wet age-related
macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). The product uses the
LentiVector system to deliver genes to the retina that block the formation of
new blood vessels. Oxford BioMedica has exclusive rights to two proprietary
anti-angiogenic genes, angiostatin and endostatin, for use in treatments of
ocular diseases under a licensing agreement with Entremed Inc. The Company has
evaluated both genes in its RetinoStat programme. The optimised version of the
product, which will proceed to clinical development, carries both the
angiostatin and endostatin anti-angiogenic genes and shows significantly greater
efficacy than versions containing single genes. Preclinical development is being
conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK, and
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, with
support from the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The Company plans to start
clinical trials with RetinoStat in wet AMD in 2007.
3. Age-related macular degeneration and other retinopathies
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) are major
causes of blindness in the developed world. AMD affects an estimated 25-30
million people in the western world and DR affects approximately 50% of all
Americans diagnosed with diabetes. It is estimated that there are 17 million
diabetics in the USA. AMD is the most common cause of visual loss in the
elderly. DR is the most common cause of visual loss in the working population
and is the most common cause of acquired blindness in people under 60 in the
developed world.
Both wet AMD, the form of AMD which accounts for 90% of all severe vision loss
from the disease, and DR are caused by aberrant growth of leaky and disruptive
blood vessels in the retina. This growth is caused by a hyper-response to
localised regions of low oxygen arising from compromised blood supply within the
retina. Oxford BioMedica has shown that its LentiVector technology can target
these regions of the eye with great accuracy and deliver anti-angiogenic
proteins to treat these diseases.
Analysts' estimates, published in the Wall Street Journal, suggest that sales of
an effective treatment for macular degeneration could exceed US$1 billion per
annum.
4. The Foundation Fighting Blindness
The Foundation Fighting Blindness, Inc. (FFB) has a mission to drive the
research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected
by retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire
spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases. The Foundation has funded thousands
of research studies at hundreds of prominent institutions. The Foundation funds
leading-edge research in promising areas such as genetics, gene therapy, retinal
cell transplantation, artificial retinal implants, and pharmaceutical and
nutritional therapies. Since its inception in 1971, the Foundation has raised
over US$240 million. FFB is ranked as a 'Top-Rated' charity by the American
Institute of Philanthropy and was named one of Worth Magazine's '100 Best
Charities.'
Further information is available at www.fightblindness.org
5. The National Neurovision Research Institute
The mission of the National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI) is to
accelerate the translation of laboratory based research into clinical trials for
treatments and cures of retinal degenerative diseases.
NNRI is a newly established non-profit entity, a support organization of the
Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB). The mission of the NNRI is to accelerate
the translation of laboratory based research into clinical trials for treatments
and cures of retinal degenerative diseases. It is a medical research institute
that will obtain support from government agencies, corporations and private
foundations. It may also receive royalties or licensing fees from the drug
discovery processes and commercialization of new therapies.
Further information is available at www.nnri.info/index.htm
6. Stargardt disease (STGD)
STGD is the most common juvenile degenerative retinal disease with a US and EU
population of approx. 50 000 cases and an incidence of 1/10 000 (= 600 new cases
/year). Autosomal recessive STGD is a juvenile-onset macular dystrophy. Age of
onset is typically 8-12 years with severely decreased visual acuities developing
within nine years of onset. Presentation includes increased blindspots, and
reduced ability to adapt to dark after sunlight exposure. Impact is confined to
loss of central vision analogous to AMD.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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