Oxford BioMedica plc

Development of gene-based therapeutics with a focus on the areas oncology, neurodegenerative disorders, retinopathy and HIV.

Oxford BioMedica was formed in 1995 as a spin out from Oxford University. Oxford BioMedica is headquartered in Oxford, UK, and has a fully owned subsidiary, BioMedica Inc., in San Diego, USA. The company is employing some 65 persons and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the sock symbol OXB since 1996. Oxford BioMedica has extensive collaboration and licensing agreements with Wyeth, Merck & Co, Intervet, Amersham, Viragen, Arius Research and Kiadis.

Alan Kingsman, Prof., CEO
Andrew Wood, CFO
Susan Kingsman, Dr., CSO
Michael McDonald, CMO
Susan Marlow, VP of Clinical Development

Peter Johnson, Chairman
Nick Rodgers
Mark Berninger

Adrian L. Harris, Prof.
Beverly L. Davidson, Prof.
Peter L Stern, Dr.
J. William Langston, Dr.
David J. Waxman, Prof.
Krys Bankiewicz, Dr.
Patrick Aebischer, Prof.

Medawar Centre
Robert Robinson Avenue
The Oxford Science Park
Oxford OX4 4GA
UK
Tel: +44-1865-783000
Fax: +44-1865-783001

The idea of Oxford BioMedica’s products is to use genes as mediators of a therapeutic effect and/or immune response. The gene-based immunotherapy products deliver genes that recruit the patient’s immune system to mediate a therapeutic effect. The development pipeline includes two novel anti-cancer products in clinical trials and two neurotherapy products in advanced preclinical development for Parkinson’s disease and retinopathy.

LentiVector® technology is a proprietary gene transfer system based on the lentivirus Equine Infectious Anaemia Virus (EIAV). TroVax® is a novel cancer vaccine, which delivers a novel proprietary tumour associated antigen (5T4) using a pox virus vector. MetXia® is based on a highly engineered retrovirus vector expressing the human cytochrome P450 gene, CYP2B6. MetXia enables a tumor cell to increase local production of the anti-tumour, cytotoxic derivative of the prodrug cyclophosphamide (CPA). For the treatment of late stage Parkinson’s disease Oxford.

BioMedica has developed ProSavin®, which delivers genes for dopamine synthesis to the brain via the Company’s proprietary LentiVector® technology. RetinoStat® is developed to anticipate unregulated and aberrant angiogenesis as a consequence of angiogenic factor (VEGF) expression induced under hypoxic conditions in the retina. Unregulated blood vessel growth is the reason for age-related macular degeneration and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. MoNuDin® is the gene-directed expression of therapeutic molecules for the treatment of neuronal diseases like amyotropic lateral aclerosis. Innurex is a product that uses the LentiVector® technology to deliver the human RARß2 gene that induces neurons to produce neurite outgrowths in damaged nerves. Repoxygen™ delivers the Epo gene to the muscle cells in a vector configuration that brings the gene under the control of an oxygen-sensitive gene switch to treat anaemia. Epo production is automatically controlled by tissue oxygen levels and there are no bolus effects. Requinate™ uses LentiVector system carrying the factor VIII gene to treat haemophilia A. ImmStat® aims to create a population of immune cells within the patient that does not support the replication of HIV. Gene delivery uses an HIV-based lentiviral gene transfer vector.

TroVax® is currently tested in three Phase II trials. A Phase I trial, rolling into a Phase II trial with MetXia is currently underway in pancreatic cancer patients.

The following section contains a selection of the company’s most relevant patents. For comprehensive patent information please refer to the espacenet databases.