7th May 2015 08:55
LONDON (Alliance News) - Oxford Biomedica PLC said that its contracts with Novartis International AG will generate significant manufacturing and process development revenues in 2015 and 2016, which will reduce its operational cash burn, and it is looking for similar contracts with other third parties.
The company signed deals with Novartis last October worth up to USD90 million to help develop its CART-19 leukameia drug.
Last Friday it secured a USD50 million loan facility from Oberland Capital Healthcare, which it said has removed any uncertainty on its financial position whilst it builds capacity to fulfil the Novartis deal. It plans to continue to expand its physical capacity during 2015 and the first half of 2016, and it expects profits from its OXB Solutions business should largely offset business overheads.
It expects to spend around GBP20 million in expanding its facilities during 2015 and 2016.
Additionally, the company is working towards the start of a Phase I/II study of EncorStat for the prevention of corneal graft rejection. This is expected to start in 2016.
Results from the phase I study of RetinoStat for wet macular degeneration were announced at the Association for Research in Vision and Opthamology conference on Monday, showing it met its primary endpoints in safety and tolerability. It is now working to determine the best option for the development of the product.
At the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, also on Monday, the company presented results from a follow-up study of Prosavin in Parkinson's disease, which showed that improvement has been sustained in the majority of patients over a three-year period. It is now progressing its OXB-102 treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease into clinical development, with a study planned to start in 2016.
"We can now focus on delivering the Novartis contracts and, crucially for driving further shareholder value, making progress with our product portfolio. We continue to see very exciting potential with the current portfolio but also from new internal ideas and external opportunities," said Chief Executive Officer John Dawson in a statement.
Shares in Oxford Biomedica are trading up 2.9% at 11.83 pence Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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