OXFORD
BIOMEDICA PLC
Oxford Biomedica Obtains Fundamental Patent for Lentiviral
Gene Therapy Technology
Oxford,
UK - 26 June 2001: Oxford BioMedica plc announced today that
it has received allowance from the US Patent Office for a
fundamental patent covering its proprietary LentiVector®
technology. The patent includes broad composition of matter
claims and methods of production claims for lentiviral vector
gene delivery systems of both human and non-human origin.
The patent
is particularly important because it covers derivatives of
lentiviral vector systems that, unlike many versions of lentiviral
vectors, have real clinical utility because of their safety.
The BioMedica team was the first to construct lentiviral vectors
that contain no viral genes at all, and which comprise the
minimum number of viral components in the viral particles.
It is this minimisation of the vectors that is the subject
of the patent. This work was done using vectors based on HIV
and Equine Infectious Anaemia Virus (EIAV), a horse virus
that is not linked to any disease in humans. The EIAV system
is BioMedica's system of choice because of its superior safety
profile.
Oxford
BioMedica is currently utilising the EIAV-based vector system
in target validation and gene discovery and in preclinical
studies in therapies for prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease.
In particular BioMedica has shown that LentiVector®
has a unique capability for the delivery of genes at high
efficiency to cells of the nervous system. This capability
underlies BioMedica's candidate Parkinson's disease product
ProSavin®, and will be one of the main areas
of focus for BioMedica Inc., Oxford BioMedica's new USA operation.
"Oxford
BioMedica's LentiVector® technology is a powerful
gene delivery platform that out-performs other vector systems
in terms of its combination of high gene transfer efficiencies,
duration and regulation of gene expression, ease of production
and safety. This is reflected in the range of existing commercial
interactions and further discussions that are underway related
to this technology, and in encouraging results from a number
of the Company's preclinical studies. We are working currently
on taking our first LentiVector®-based products
into clinical trials for cancer and for Parkinson's disease"
said Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive of Oxford BioMedica. |
Return to the News
| Notes
to Editors
| 1. |
Oxford
BioMedica plc
Established in 1995, the Company specialises in the
application of gene-based technology to the development
of novel therapeutics. Its three principal activities
are in the fields of gene therapy, immunotherapy and
genomics, and its principal therapeutic areas are in
cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Oxford BioMedica
plc was floated on the Alternative Investment Market
of the London Stock Exchange in December 1996, and upgraded
to the United Kingdom Listing Authority Official List
in April 2001 following a successful £35.5 million
fund-raising.
Currently
Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with Aventis,
AstraZeneca, IDM, Modex Therapeutics, Nycomed Amersham,
Valentis, Virbac and Wyeth. BioMedica has two products
in Phase I/II clinical trials: MetXia®
for late-stage breast cancer (BC1) and ovarian cancer
(OC1), and TroVax™ for late-stage colorectal cancer.
|
| 2. |
Lentivirus
vector systems.
In gene therapy, the aim is to deliver a gene and its
necessary regulatory elements (the gene construct) to
the cell surface, using a vector to mediate the transfer
across the cell membrane and, in some cases, into the
nucleus. A new and increasingly powerful vector system
is based on lentiviruses, which have similar features
to retroviruses in the ease of manipulation, predictable
integration and reliable gene expression and regulation.
However, their main advantage over retroviruses is the
ability to function in non-dividing cells or cells that
are dividing slowly - a feature of many clinically important
tissues including the central and peripheral nervous system.
|
| 3. |
Types
of lentiviruses
Lentiviral vectors are constructed from two sources:
- primate viruses e.g. human or simian immunodeficiency
virus (HIV or SIV)
- non-primate viruses e.g. feline and bovine immunodeficiency
viruses (FIV and BIV), and one of the most simple, equine
infective anaemia virus (EIAV)
|
| 4. |
BioMedica
Inc.
A key part of Oxford BioMedica's strategy for growth following
its recent upgrade to the UKLA Official List and the successful
£35.5 million fund-raising is to establish a significant
business unit in the USA. BioMedica Inc. is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Oxford BioMedica plc, and it plans to establish
offices and laboratories on the US west coast. On 29 May
2001 BioMedica announced the appointment of Dr Doug Jolly
as CEO of BioMedica Inc. |
|
| For
further information please contact: |
|
|
Oxford BioMedica plc
Professor Alan
Kingsman, Chief Executive |
Tel:
+44 (0)1865 783 000 |
| City/Financial
Enquiries:
Melanie Toyne Sewell / Fiona Noblet
Financial Dynamics
|
Tel:
+44 (0) 207 831 3113 |
| Scientific/Trade
Press Enquiries:
Chris
Gardner , HCC De Facto Group |
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7496 3300 |
|
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