Positive Results from Pilot Clinical Study

Oxford Pharmascience Group plc("Oxford Pharmascience" or the "Company")

Positive Results from Pilot Clinical Study of OXP001(Reduced Gastric Irritation Ibuprofen)

Oxford Pharmascience, the specialty pharmaceutical company that redevelops medicines to make them better, safer and easier to take, today announces the positive results of its proof of concept clinical study to determine the extent of upper gastrointestinal irritation of the OXP001 400mg tablet compared with the Brufen 400mg (Ibuprofen) tablet by endoscopic evaluation. Further details are included below and more information can be found at www.ClinicalTrials.gov.

HIGHLIGHTS

· Significantly less gastrointestinal irritation after administration of OXP001 compared to Ibuprofen

· Primary and secondary trial endpoints met

· Minor optimisation work required to OXP001 tablet to achieve bioequivalence compared to reference

· Results allow the company to proceed with confidence to phase III clinical trial

· Results validate the OXPzeroTM platform technology, giving confidence to continue development programmes with other NSAIDs.

The primary endpoint of the study was a comparison of the overall Lanza score (a rating score of gastrointestinal irritation on endoscopic evaluation) in the stomach and duodenum. The reduction in mean Lanza scores for OXP001 versus Ibuprofen was 0.9 (p=0.007).

The secondary endpoints included a comparison of the number of erosions observed separately in the stomach and duodenum. The result of the trial showed that OXP001 was associated with significantly fewer erosions: the OXP001 arm displayed 73% (p=0.007) fewer erosions in the stomach and 89% (p=0.020) fewer in the duodenum.

The pharmacokinetic data obtained from the study indicated that while 65% of OXP001 subjects had comparable absorption to Brufen, OXP001 achieved a smaller average dose of Ibuprofen absorbed (approx. 76%). An average in the 80-125% range is required to achieve bioequivalence. Minor optimisation work on the tablet formulation is required before proceeding to final larger scale pivotal phase III trials. This work has already been initiated and is expected to be completed imminently.

Marcelo Bravo, Chief Executive Officer commented:

"Oxford Pharmascience is very encouraged by the positive results of this proof of concept study in humans showing significant reduction in gastrointestinal irritation of OXP001 compared to Ibuprofen.

Gastrointestinal side effects are a major risk affecting patients taking NSAIDs and reducing these effects is a major step in improving patient safety, quality of care and reducing the cost of care. Following tablet optimisation, the Company looks forward to proceeding with confidence to pivotal trials for our reduced gastric irritation Ibuprofen. In conjunction with this, Oxford Pharmascience continues to advance development to apply this exciting technology to other commonly used NSAIDs including Naproxen, Diclofenac and Aspirin, which represent further substantial opportunities."

Dr Stuart Mair, Medical Director at Quotient Clinical and Principal Investigator, commented:

"These results are potentially meaningful in a clinical context representing an improved safety profile."

Further information to the trial and the OXP001 pilot study results

NSAIDs are one of the most widely used classes of drugs, with more than 30 million users worldwide consuming NSAIDs each day (1). However, use of NSAIDs causes well documented gastrointestinal effects, including erosions, bleeding and ulcers, and leads to significant morbidity, mortality and economic healthcare burden (2)(3).

OXP001 delivers 400mg of Ibuprofen per tablet via the Company's OXPzero™ technology in a novel salt oral formulation. OXP001 aims to provide significantly reduced risks of gastrointestinal damage for use in the treatment of conditions requiring continued use of prescription dose Ibuprofen.

The two arm proof of concept trial included 43 healthy adult participants: one arm administered with OXP001 and the other Ibuprofen (day 1: Single dose 800mg, days 2-8: 800mg three times daily - total daily dose 2400mg). Participants underwent endoscopy evaluation in advance of day 1 and on day 9 to establish the resulting gastrointestinal effects.

In this pilot study OXP001 exhibited significantly lower incidence of gastrointestinal irritation compared to Brufen with study data showing statistically significant differences between OXP001 and Ibuprofen in primary and secondary endpoints, both in Lanza scores and in the number of gastrointestinal erosions. Specifically, following dosing for seven days and with patients being assessed via endoscopic evaluation, the difference in mean Lanza scores for OXP001 versus Ibuprofen was 0.9 (p=0.007) with the median number of erosions 73% (p=0.007) lower in the stomach and 89% (p=0.020) lower in the duodenum.

The pharmacokinetic data showed a different drug release profile for OXP001 compared to the Ibuprofen reference, including slower drug release and some OXP001 subjects showing lower bioavailability. However, analysis of the data from this study shows no relationship between the drug release profile and the amount of gastric irritation. Specifically there is no correlation between the standard pharmacokinetic parameters tested - peak plasma concentration, area under the concentration-time curve, time to peak plasma concentration and concentration half-life - and gastric irritation and analysis of the comparable subgroup confirm the positive effect of the OXP technology on gastric irritation compared to Ibuprofen. Based on in-vitro testing, the pharmacokinetic behaviour of OXP001 is believed to be due to slow tablet disintegration. Accordingly, Oxford Pharmascience is initiating tablet optimisation work to ensure bioequivalence to the reference Brufen 400mg tablet. The Company will be validating an optimised tablet via a further pharmacokinetic and gastric irritation study, expected to conclude in the coming months, before proceeding to larger scale pivotal trials in line with previous guidance.

References:(1) Evaluate Pharma

(2) Guidelines for prevention of NSAID-related ulcer complications, Lanza et al., Am J Gastroenterol. 2009 Mar;104 (3):728-38. doi:10.1038/ajg.2009.115 .

(3) The economics of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a US managed-care setting: a retrospective, claims-based analysis, Cryer et al., Journal of Medical Economics, 2010; 13(1): 70-77

Contact information:

Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc

Marcelo Bravo, Chief Executive +44 20 7554 5875

N+1 Singer (Nominated Adviser & Broker)

Aubrey Powell / Jen Boorer +44 20 7496 3000

About Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc

Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc uses a range of proprietary technology platforms to re-develop existing medicines to make them better, safer or easier to take. The Company does not manufacture or sell its own pharmaceutical products direct to consumers but instead seeks to license its technologies and dossiers to a network of partners, mainly leading pharmaceutical companies with Rx (prescription) and OTC (Over the Counter) branded portfolios.

Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc focuses on existing medicines that are proven to be safe and effective but nevertheless still have associated issues and side effects often affecting compliance. By working with such medicines the Company is able to develop new innovative products for a fraction of the cost, in much quicker timescales and without the high risk of failure associated with developing new drugs.