Oxford, UK – 1 May 2013: Oxford BioMedica plc (“Oxford BioMedica” or “the Company”) (LSE: OXB), the leading gene-based biopharmaceutical company, announces that it has signed an agreement with Novartis to manufacture clinical grade material utilising Oxford BioMedica’s LentiVector® gene delivery technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Oxford BioMedica will also provide certain process development services and expects to receive between £2.5 million and £4 million from Novartis over the next 12 months.
Oxford BioMedica will be responsible for manufacturing several batches of a lentiviral vector encoding CTL019 technology. This vector will be used to transduce patients’ immune cells (T-cells) in an ex vivo process before they are re-infused into patients. CTL019 targets a protein called CD19 that is associated with a number of B-cell malignancies including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell acute lymphocytic leukaemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioMedica, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Novartis to support a key immunotherapy programme. The strategic investment in our specialist manufacturing capabilities is a pivotal step towards building a financially self-sustaining business and this collaboration is an example of how we can commercialise our expertise.”
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