2nd Oct 2006 07:01
Oxford Biomedica PLC02 October 2006 For immediate release 2 October 2006 Oxford BioMedica OXFORD BIOMEDICA EXPANDS ITS OCULAR PROGRAMME THROUGH COLLABORATION ANDINVESTMENT LED BY THE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS Oxford, UK - 2nd October 2006: Oxford BioMedica (LSE:OXB), a leadinggene therapy company, and The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) through itstranslational research arm National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI)announced today that they have signed a research and collaboration agreement todevelop 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 thepre-clinical development of RetinoStat(R), Oxford BioMedica's product for thetreatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and for which OxfordBioMedica expects to file an IND application in 2007. The first product in theexpanded portfolio will be StarGen(TM)for the treatment of Stargardt disease, themost 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 andwill also subscribe for up to $3.9m of Oxford BioMedica ordinary shares of1penny each ("Ordinary Shares") to fund the development of StarGen. The sharesubscription will be made in stages and priced at a 10% premium to the marketprice at the time of investment. In return FFB and the consortium of investorswill receive a royalty on sales of StarGen. Upon signing of the share subscription agreement, the Company has allotted andissued 485,185 new Ordinary Shares at 33.0 pence per share. These new ordinaryshares 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 LondonStock Exchange for these 485,185 new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to theOfficial List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listedsecurities respectively. Admission is expected to become effective and dealingsin the new Ordinary Shares are expected to commence on 6 October 2006. Commenting on the news, Oxford BioMedica's Chief Executive, Professor AlanKingsman said: "We have a strong and successful working relationship with FFBand we are delighted that they, together with a consortium of investors, haverecognised the broad potential of Oxford BioMedica's LentiVector(R) genedelivery system for the treatment of a range of eye diseases. FFB support willensure that our expanded ocular programme will move quickly towards clinicalevaluation" Gordon Gund, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board for the Foundation FightingBlindness, added: "We are delighted that this partnership with Oxford BioMedicais accelerating promising treatments for AMD, Stargardt disease, and otherretinal degenerative diseases into clinical trials. Our collaborations withinnovative biopharmaceutical companies such as Oxford BioMedica are greatlyenhancing our ability to get preventions, treatments, and cures out to themillions of people who need them." -Ends- For further information, please contact:Oxford BioMedica plc: Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000City/Financial Enquiries: Lisa Baderoon/Mark Court/Mary-Jane Johnson Buchanan Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000Communications 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 thedevelopment of novel gene-based therapeutics with a focus on oncology andneurotherapy. The Company was established in 1995 as a spin out from OxfordUniversity, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Oxford BioMedica has core expertise in gene delivery, as well as in-houseclinical, regulatory and manufacturing know-how. In oncology, the pipelineincludes two candidates in multiple Phase II trials, and a preclinical targetedantibody therapy in collaboration with Wyeth. A Phase III trial in renal cancerwith TroVax, the lead cancer immunotherapy candidate, is expected to start inthe second half of 2006. In neurotherapy, the Company's lead product is a genetherapy for Parkinson's disease, which is expected to enter clinical developmentin 2006, and four further preclinical candidates. The Company is underpinned byover 80 patent families, which represent one of the broadest patent estates inthe field. The Company has a staff of approximately 70 split between its main facilities inOxford 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 technologyto 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-relatedmacular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). The product uses theLentiVector system to deliver genes to the retina that block the formation ofnew blood vessels. Oxford BioMedica has exclusive rights to two proprietaryanti-angiogenic genes, angiostatin and endostatin, for use in treatments ofocular diseases under a licensing agreement with Entremed Inc. The Company hasevaluated both genes in its RetinoStat programme. The optimised version of theproduct, which will proceed to clinical development, carries both theangiostatin and endostatin anti-angiogenic genes and shows significantly greaterefficacy than versions containing single genes. Preclinical development is beingconducted in collaboration with the Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK, andJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, withsupport from the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The Company plans to startclinical 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 majorcauses of blindness in the developed world. AMD affects an estimated 25-30million people in the western world and DR affects approximately 50% of allAmericans diagnosed with diabetes. It is estimated that there are 17 milliondiabetics in the USA. AMD is the most common cause of visual loss in theelderly. DR is the most common cause of visual loss in the working populationand is the most common cause of acquired blindness in people under 60 in thedeveloped world. Both wet AMD, the form of AMD which accounts for 90% of all severe vision lossfrom the disease, and DR are caused by aberrant growth of leaky and disruptiveblood vessels in the retina. This growth is caused by a hyper-response tolocalised regions of low oxygen arising from compromised blood supply within theretina. Oxford BioMedica has shown that its LentiVector technology can targetthese regions of the eye with great accuracy and deliver anti-angiogenicproteins to treat these diseases. Analysts' estimates, published in the Wall Street Journal, suggest that sales ofan effective treatment for macular degeneration could exceed US$1 billion perannum. 4. The Foundation Fighting Blindness The Foundation Fighting Blindness, Inc. (FFB) has a mission to drive theresearch that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affectedby retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entirespectrum of retinal degenerative diseases. The Foundation has funded thousandsof research studies at hundreds of prominent institutions. The Foundation fundsleading-edge research in promising areas such as genetics, gene therapy, retinalcell transplantation, artificial retinal implants, and pharmaceutical andnutritional therapies. Since its inception in 1971, the Foundation has raisedover US$240 million. FFB is ranked as a "Top-Rated" charity by the AmericanInstitute of Philanthropy and was named one of Worth Magazine's "100 BestCharities." Further information is available at www.fightblindness.org 5. The National Neurovision Research Institute The mission of the National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI) is toaccelerate the translation of laboratory based research into clinical trials fortreatments and cures of retinal degenerative diseases.NNRI is a newly established non-profit entity, a support organization of theFoundation Fighting Blindness (FFB). The mission of the NNRI is to acceleratethe translation of laboratory based research into clinical trials for treatmentsand cures of retinal degenerative diseases. It is a medical research institutethat will obtain support from government agencies, corporations and privatefoundations. It may also receive royalties or licensing fees from the drugdiscovery 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 EUpopulation 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 ofonset is typically 8-12 years with severely decreased visual acuities developingwithin nine years of onset. Presentation includes increased blindspots, andreduced ability to adapt to dark after sunlight exposure. Impact is confined toloss of central vision analogous to AMD. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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