Oxford, UK – 30 December, 2020: Oxford Biomedica plc (LSE:Oxford Biomedica) (“Oxford Biomedica” or “the Group”), a leading gene and cell therapy group, notes AstraZeneca PLC (“AstraZeneca”) has announced that their COVID-19 Vaccine, formerly AZD1222, has been authorised for emergency supply in the UK by The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Key highlights from the announcement were as follows:
• Working with the UK government, first vaccinations to begin early in the New Year
• Regulatory interactions continue around the world for next approvals
• The authorisation is for immunisation of individuals 18 years or older and recommends two doses administered with an interval of between four and 12 weeks. This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose.
To view the full announcement from AstraZeneca, please follow this link.
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Biomedica, said: “This emergency use authorisation marks a landmark day for the UK in the fight against COVID-19 as the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can now be delivered to the population, putting us on a path to a more normal way of life. At Oxford Biomedica we are proud to be part of this effort, led by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, to bring a safe and efficacious vaccine to market in less than a year. The team at Oxford Biomedica continues to work tirelessly to maximise production of the vaccine from our commercial manufacturing site, Oxbox, whilst continuing to support all our partners in cell and gene therapy.”
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Enquiries:
Oxford Biomedica plc
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer, T: +44 (0)1865 783 000
Stuart Paynter, Chief Financial Officer, T: +44 (0)1865 783 000
Catherine Isted, Head of Corporate Development & IR, T: +44 (0)1865 954 161 / E: ir@oxb.com
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott/Matthew Neal, T: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
About Oxford Biomedica
Oxford Biomedica (LSE:Oxford Biomedica) is a leading, fully integrated, gene and cell therapy group focused on developing life changing treatments for serious diseases. Oxford Biomedica and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) have built a sector leading lentiviral vector delivery platform (LentiVector®), which the Group leverages to develop in vivo and ex vivo products both in-house and with partners. The Group has created a valuable proprietary portfolio of gene and cell therapy product candidates in the areas of oncology, ophthalmology, CNS disorders, liver diseases and respiratory disease. The Group has also entered into a number of partnerships, including with Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Sio Gene Therapies, Orchard Therapeutics, Santen, Beam Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium and Imperial Innovations, through which it has long-term economic interests in other potential gene and cell therapy products. Additionally the group has signed a 3 year master supply and development agreement with AstraZeneca for large-scale manufacturing of the adenoviral based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222. Oxford Biomedica is based across several locations in Oxfordshire, UK and employs more than 580 people. Further information is available at www.oxb.com