Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development of gene-based products for a range of unmet medical needs with an emphasis on new cancer products, which combine novel mechanisms of action with very low side effects, and innovative neurotherapy products, which address large and, in several areas, untapped markets. The products are all protected by multiple patents comprising a total intellectual property portfolio of some 69 patent families, which represents one of the broadest patent estates in the field.

In addition to its technical research skill-base, Oxford BioMedica has in-house clinical, regulatory and manufacturing know-how. The development pipeline includes two novel anti-cancer products in clinical trials and a gene-based treatment for Parkinson’s disease, which is in late preclinical studies.

TroVax^®, Oxford BioMedica’s lead cancer immunotherapy product, is in Phase II trials for colorectal cancer. Further Phase II trials are planned for breast and renal cancer. MetXia^®, Oxford BioMedica’s lead gene-based cancer therapeutic, is based on a highly engineered retrovirus gene delivery system expressing a specific human cytochrome P450 gene. MetXia is being investigated in a Phase I/II trial in breast cancer, and regulatory submissions are under review for trials in pancreactic cancer.

Oxford BioMedica has a wholly-owned subsidiary in San Diego, USA. Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with Wyeth, Intervet, Aliga Pharmaceuticals, Amersham, Arius Research and Viragen.

The main causes of vision-loss in the developed world are age-related macular degeneration (‘AMD’) and diabetic retinopathy (‘DR’). These conditions affect approximately 30 million people in the US and Europe and the market potential is in excess of $1.0 billion. In both AMD and DR, blindness is caused by the defective formation of new blood vessels in the retina. In AMD, new blood vessels extend from the inner retina beyond the inner limiting membrane, which leads to haemorrhaging and distortion of the specific area of the retinal surface responsible for sharp, central vision. In DR, a similar process occurs however, the new blood vessels appear on the vitreous surface of the retina causing excessive accumulation of fluid or ‘oedema’, which blurs vision and causes retinal haemorrhage. RetinoStat is designed to halt this aberrant growth of blood vessels and prevent it recurring. The current treatments for AMD and DR tend only to slow the diseases’ progression.

Oxford BioMedica entered a research collaboration with the Institute of Ophthalmology in May 2002 to use the Company’s proprietary technology to develop novel treatments for vision loss. RetinoStat comprises a LentiVector gene delivery system expressing an angiostatic gene under the control of Oxford BioMedica’s Hypoxia Response Element, which promotes gene expression under low oxygen conditions.

EntreMed, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics that simultaneously target the biological pathways of angiogenesis (abnormal blood vessel growth) inflammation, coagulation and/or apoptosis (programmed cell death) – pathways associated with over 80 diseases such as cancer, blindness and atherosclerosis. The Company’s clinical drug candidates, led by the small molecule Panzem^®, have shown a strong safety profile with neither toxicity nor clinically significant side effects reported to date. Further, doctors have reported tumor regression and disease stabilization in some clinical patients that have received EntreMed drug candidates. The Company also has a rich pipeline of small molecule compounds in preclinical development, consisting primarily of new chemical entities based on 2-methoxyestradiol-related structures (steroidal and non-steroidal analogs) and chemically-derived small molecules from peptides – peptidomimetics.

For further information, visit EntreMed’s website.