OXFORD
BIOMEDICA
POSITIVE PRECLINICAL RESULTS IN GENE THERAPY FOR PARKINSON'S
DISEASE
Oxford,
United Kingdom - 12 November 2001. Oxford
BioMedica plc (LSE:OXB) ("BioMedica") announced
today that it has presented preclinical data for its Parkinson's
disease product, ProSavin® at the 31st Annual
Meeting of the American Society of Neurosciences which is
being held in San Diego, California between the 10th and 15th
of November 2001. The data show that the administration of
ProSavin® in a preclinical disease model leads
to the production of dopamine in brain cells that were previously
unable to produce the neurotransmitter and that it corrects
Parkinson's disease-like symptoms.
Parkinson's
disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised
by the death of brain cells that produce the neurotransmitter,
dopamine. Dopamine controls movement and its loss leads to
the familiar symptoms of PD i.e. rigidity, resting tremor
and motor function impairment resulting in slow movements
and poor balance. The disease affects approximately 2.5 million
people worldwide.
Current
treatments include oral administration of L-dopa, the precursor
of dopamine which can restore some degree of motor function.
However, the systemic administration of this drug soon becomes
ineffective and has serious side effects. As a result, the
directors of BioMedica believe there is still an unmet medical
need for an effective treatment for this disease.
ProSavin®
is a LentiVector® which delivers three genes
required for dopamine synthesis to brain cells that do not
normally produce it. This results in these cells becoming
endogenous factories for dopamine, thereby replacing the dopamine-producing
cells that die during the course of PD . This achieves the
goal of local and continuous production of dopamine without
the systemic adverse effects of L-dopa administration.
Commenting
on the preclinical results presented, Chief Executive, Professor
Alan Kingsman said:
"Through our research, we have shown that ProSavin®
is the first gene therapeutic product to deliver more than
one gene into brain cells at precisely the site for treating
PD. It is also the first of its type to demonstrate effectiveness
in reversing symptoms of the disease in well known model systems.
Preclinical development of ProSavin® is ongoing
and we look forward to keeping shareholders updated on progress."
-Ends-
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| Notes
| 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.
Oxford
BioMedica has operating centres in Oxford, UK and San
Diego, USA
Currently
Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with Aventis,
AstraZeneca, IDM, Nycomed Amersham, Valentis, Virbac
and Wyeth. BioMedica has two products in Phase I/II
clinical trials: MetXia® for late-stage
breast cancer, and TroVax® for late-stage
colorectal cancer.
|
| 2. |
LentiVector®
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.
LentiVector® is a new and increasingly
powerful vector system 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 systems.
Oxford
BioMedica is a leader in the development and application
of lentiviral vectors. Its proprietary LentiVector®
technology is protected by international patents, including
recently granted US patents.
ProSavin®
is based on equine infective anaemia virus (EIAV) EIAV
is one of the most simple lentiviruses and is not known
to cause disease in humans. For use in gene therapy,
the virus is engineered so that it delivers only therapeutic
genes and not viral genes. LentiVector®
also has important potential applications in product
development and target validation of genomic targets.
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| 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)20 7831
3113 |
| Scientific/Trade
Enquiries
Chris
Gardner, HCC De Facto Group
|
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7496 3300 |
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