OXFORD BIOMEDICA PLC

Oxford, UK - 12 March 2001: Oxford BioMedica plc (BioMedica), the specialist in the development and application of gene-based therapeutics using advanced gene delivery technologies, announced today that it has applied to the UK Listing Authority for the Company's 172,347,312 Existing Ordinary Shares and up to 73,699,701 New Ordinary Shares, issued pursuant to the Placing and the Open Offer, to be admitted to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange. The Company has been listed on the Alternative Investment Market since December 1996.

The Company is proposing to raise approximately £27 million net of expenses by means of a Placing which has been fully underwritten by N M Rothschild & Sons Limited (Rothschild) and Beeson Gregory Limited (Beeson Gregory) jointly and up to approximately £10 million through an Open Offer. The Open Offer is not being underwritten.

The proceeds of the Placing and Open Offer will be used to continue to strengthen the Company and to progress the candidate products to a stage where they can generate significant revenues for the Group.

Summary

• Admission to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange.
• Placing to raise approximately £27 million (net of expenses) and up to approximately £10 million through an Open Offer.
• The Placing has been fully underwritten by Rothschild and Beeson Gregory jointly.
• The Directors intend to use the proceeds to increase the clinical trial programme, continue to build alliances with major pharmaceutical companies, further strengthen its intellectual property position and establish a US operation.
• Admission is expected to become effective and dealings in the Existing Ordinary Shares and the New Ordinary Shares to commence on Tuesday, 17 April 2001.

Commenting, Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive of Oxford BioMedica, said:

"BioMedica's move to the Official List has been a long held ambition for us and we are pleased to have achieved this goal. Simultaneously, we have raised a substantial sum for the development of the Company with respect to its product pipeline, intellectual property and international presence. It has been important to achieve these goals now in order to take advantage of new commercial and corporate opportunities.

"We have been fully supported in this by a range of quality UK and European institutions during a particularly difficult time for the biotech sector. We believe that we have had a very positive endorsement from investors, reflecting BioMedica's growing standing in the biotech sector and its long term potential."

EXTRACTS FROM THE LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF OXFORD BIOMEDICA PLC

Current trading and prospects for Oxford BioMedica
Since 31 December 2000, trading has continued in line with expectations and BioMedica has announced a number of commercial agreements, with Wyeth (19 January 2001) under which Wyeth gained exclusive development and world-wide marketing rights to a BioMedica anti-cancer therapy and with the French Centre for National Scientific Research and the University of Montpelier (1 February 2001) that grants BioMedica exclusive access to antibody technology developed by Dr. Marc Piechaczyk at the University of Montpelier. BioMedica also recently announced an agreement with King's College London under which BioMedica gained exclusive use of a proprietary gene, RARß2, associated with nerve regeneration. All these agreements are regarded by the Company as having been entered into in the ordinary course of business.

The agreement with Wyeth is the most significant of the agreements entered into by the Company since 31 December 2000 and has the potential to generate up to $24 million in upfront and milestone payments prior to the commencement of royalty payments. While the other agreements have potential for a long term impact on the trading prospects of the Company, they have had no material effect on the Company since 31 December 2000.

The Directors estimate that the funding requirements for the period of two years from Admission will amount to approximately £28 million. The Directors believe that such funding requirements can be met from the Company's existing cash resources and from the net proceeds of the Placing. As a consequence of continuing investment in research and development, the Directors expect the BioMedica group to continue making losses in 2001.

The Company intends to spread the risk associated with product development by pursuing a strategy that aims to develop a portfolio of products and commercial interactions to satisfy a broad range of markets for its products. BioMedica is developing a number of key products in-house in the areas of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, while simultaneously placing the same technology and product components alongside those of collaborative partners, who it is anticipated will pay for all, or a significant part, of the research and development programme, to generate new product opportunities.

This strategy is supported by the creation of BioMedica's Gene Discovery Division in August 2000 to further diversify the Company's revenue generation strategy by utilising its proprietary technology to provide target validation systems and target identification to the pharmaceutical industry. BioMedica has two products in Phase I/II clinical trials, a further eight collaborative arrangements for products in preclinical trials or research and two major pharmaceutical customers for its target validation programme.

Details of the Placing and Open Offer
BioMedica proposes to raise approximately £27 million, net of fees and expenses, by way of a firm Placing of 54,550,000 new Ordinary Shares at 55p per share and up to approximately £10 million through an Open Offer of up to 19,149,701 new Ordinary Shares at 55p per share.

Beeson Gregory has agreed, as agent for BioMedica, to procure subscribers or, failing which, Rothschild and Beeson Gregory have jointly agreed to subscribe as principals at the Placing Price for the New Ordinary Shares which are to be issued in connection with the Placing.

Qualifying Shareholders are invited by Rothschild (as agent for the Company) to apply for as many Offer Shares (using a whole number) as they wish under the Open Offer. In the event that the Company receives valid applications under the Open Offer for more than 19,149,701 Offer Shares in aggregate, applications by Qualifying Shareholders will be satisfied in full up to their guaranteed minimum pro rata entitlement, being:

held by them on the Record Date, and so in proportion to the number of Existing Ordinary Shares then held. Application in excess of a Qualifying Shareholder's basic entitlement will be satisfied only to the extent that applications by other Qualifying Shareholders are made for less than their guaranteed minimum pro rata entitlements. Allocations of Offer Shares in respect of excess applications will be made pro rata to the number of excess shares applied for. Fractional entitlements to Offer Shares will not be issued to Qualifying Shareholders and no cash payment will be made in lieu of fractional entitlements. Accordingly, the entitlements of Qualifying Shareholders will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of Offer Shares. The Open Offer is not being underwritten. However, any Offer Shares not taken up by Qualifying Shareholders may be placed by Beeson Gregory, as agent for the Company and for the benefit of the Company, at a price per Ordinary Share no less than the Placing Price.

Qualifying Shareholders should be aware that the Open Offer is not a rights issue and that Offer Shares not applied for under the Open Offer will not be sold in the market for the benefit of Qualifying Shareholders who do not apply for then under the Open Offer. Application forms are personal to shareholders and may not be transferred except to satisfy bona fide market claims.

The Placing and the Open Offer are both conditional upon approval by Shareholders and Admission by no later than 17 April 2001, or such later date (being no later than 1 May 2001) as Rothschild may decide.

Use of Proceeds
The net proceeds of the Placing and the Open Offer will be used to continue to strengthen the Company and to progress the candidate products to a stage where they can generate signifcant revenues for the Group. The Directors intend to:

• Develop the Company's product pipeline by increasing the Company's clinical trial programme;
• Increase the resources that are applied to building alliances with major pharmaceutical companies;
• Further strengthen the Company's intellectual property position from both in-house activities and in-licensing; and
• Establish a US operation for business development, clinical trials and new product development.

The Directors estimate that the net proceeds of the Placing are expected to be £27 million, of which £12 million will be invested in further research and development in gene therapy and gene-based immunotherapy, £6 million will be invested in preclinical and early clinical development of candidate products, and £9 million will be invested in the establishment of operations in the United States of America. Included in these estimates is capital expenditure of £5 million. It is the Directors' current intention to place the funds on deposit pending use.

The Directors' current intention is to apply any proceeds received pursuant to the Open Offer to increase the investment made by the Company in the areas identified in the paragraph above.

As a result of the institutional cash placing in August 2000 which raised net proceeds of £8.5 million, the BioMedica Group had cash balances totalling £11.6 million at 31 December 2000. The Directors intend that the majority of this will be used to fund the Gene Discovery Division.

Timetable

Rothschild, which is regulated by The Securities and Futures Authority Limited, is acting as financial adviser and sponsor to Oxford BioMedica plc in connection with the Admission, the Placing and the Open Offer and no one else and will not be responsible to any person other than Oxford BioMedica plc, for providing the protections afforded to its customers or for providing advice in relation to the Admission, the Placing and the Open Offer.

Beeson Gregory, which is regulated by the Securities and Futures Authority Limited, is acting as broker to Oxford BioMedica plc in connection with the Admission, the Placing and the Open Offer and no one else and will not be responsible to any person other than Oxford BioMedica plc, as broker, for providing the protections afforded to its customers or for providing advice in relation to the Admission, the Placing and the Open Offer.

The Open Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use of the mails, or by any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, facsimile transmission, telex or telephone) of interstate or foreign commerce, or any facilities of a national securities exchange of the United States or Canada and cannot be accepted by any such use, means, instrumentality or facility in or from within the United States or Canada and is not being made directly or indirectly in or into the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Japan.

This document is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States and the New Ordinary Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (as amended), nor under the laws of any state of the United States, and the relevant clearances have not and will not be obtained from the relevant authorities in Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Japan. Accordingly, New Ordinary Shares may not be offered, sold or delivered directly, or indirectly in or into such jurisdictions.

This document contains a summary of information extracted from the Prospectus dated 12 March 2001, copies of which are available for inspection at the Document Viewing Facility of the Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, London E14 5HS.

For further information please contact:

Oxford BioMedica plc
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive

Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000

Beeson Gregory Limited
Nick Rodgers

Tel: +44 (0)20 7488 4040

Merlin Financial
David Simonson, Melanie Toyne Sewell

Tel: +44 (0)20 7606 1244

HCC De Facto
Chris Gardner , Emma Murray

Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3300