License Agreement
Oxford Biomedica PLC
06 July 2007
For Immediate Release 6 JULY 2007
OXFORD BIOMEDICA SECURES RIGHTS TO ENDOSTATIN AND ANGIOSTATIN GENES FOR CANCER
FROM CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOSTON
Oxford, UK: 6 July 2007: Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB), a leading gene therapy
company, announced today that it has signed a license agreement with Children's
Hospital Boston to extend the Company's existing rights for the anti-angiogenic
genes, endostatin and angiostatin, for the treatment of cancer using gene
therapy. Angiogenesis, which is the formation of new blood vessels, is a
critical mechanism for tumour progression. It has been clinically proven that
tumour growth can be suppressed by using anti-angiogenic approaches to inhibit
tumour angiogenesis. Endostatin and angiostatin are endogenous anti-angiogenic
proteins discovered in the laboratory of Dr. Judah Folkman, director of the
Vascular Biology Program at Children's Hospital Boston.
Oxford BioMedica previously licensed the endostatin and angiostatin genes for
its RetinoStat(R) product candidate for the treatment of wet age-related macular
degeneration (wet AMD) and other ocular diseases associated with aberrant blood
vessel growth. The RetinoStat programme is expected to enter clinical
development in 2008 for wet AMD. Under the terms of the new license agreement
with Children's Hospital Boston, Oxford BioMedica will pay an upfront payment,
milestone payments and royalties on sales. Further details were not disclosed.
In a separate agreement, also announced today, Children's Hospital, Boston has
agreed to subscribe for a total of 243,306 ordinary shares of 1p each at £0.4075
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 12 July 2007.
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc: Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive
City/Financial Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000
Lisa Baderoon/ Mark Court/ Mary-Jane Johnson Buchanan
Communications
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0)20 7268 3002
Gemma Price/ Holly Griffiths/ Katja Stout
Northbank Communications
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 sanofi-aventis is implementing a
development plan for colorectal cancer. Oxford BioMedica's oncology pipeline
includes a specific immunotherapy candidate, Hi-8(R) MEL, for melanoma, which
has completed two clinical trials. In neurotherapy, the Company's lead product,
ProSavin(R), is expected to enter clinical development for Parkinson's disease
in 2007. 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 75 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 a targeted antibody therapy. The
Company also has collaborations with Intervet, Sigma-Aldrich, MolMed and
Virxsys. Technology licensees include Merck & Co, Biogen Idec, GlaxoSmithKline
and Pfizer.
Further information is available at www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk
2. Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise
based at a paediatric medical centre, where its discoveries have benefited both
children and adults since 1869. More than 500 scientists, including eight
members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of
Medicine and 10 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise
Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children,
Children's Hospital Boston today is a 347-bed comprehensive centre for
paediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in
patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and
families. Children's also is the primary paediatric teaching affiliate of
Harvard Medical School.
For more information about the hospital and its research visit:
www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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