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2004/OB/04
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Oxford
BioMedica Awarded £0.5 Million from the UK Department
of Health Gene Therapy Research Programme
Oxford
BioMedica announced today that the Department of Health
has awarded the Company £0.5 million to develop its
proprietary LentiVector® technology for use in the
treatment of single gene inherited disorders. The focus
of the work is to be haemophilia A, a condition caused
by a defective gene for Factor VIII, a key component of
the mechanism for forming blood clots.
The LentiVector
technology, developed primarily for the Company’s
neurotherapy pipeline, can be used in many areas outside
the field of neurobiology. It is ideally suited to the treatment
of single gene disorders where therapy is based on functional
correction of a defective gene in patients. In this situation,
there is a need for long-term, stable and predictable gene
activity and this can be achieved with the LentiVector technology.
Three
years ago the Company initiated a programme to develop
a product known as Requinate™. Requinate comprises a LentiVector
gene delivery system carrying a modified version of the
human
Factor VIII gene. During this exploratory programme the
Company solved several problems that had been encountered
by others
attempting gene therapy for haemophilia. However, since
haemophilia falls outside of the Company’s therapeutic
focus of cancer and neurotherapy, the programme has received
minimal
internal resources. The new money from the Department of
Health will enable the Company to progress the Requinate
haemophilia programme without compromising progress of
its cancer and neurotherapy products. The current market
for
Factor VIII treatment is in excess of $1.0 billion.
Commenting
on the award, Oxford BioMedica’s Chief Executive,
Prof. Alan Kingsman said "We are pleased to see
the Department of Health implementing the government’s
decision to place gene-based medicine in the mainstream of
healthcare in the UK. We are also delighted to be the only
Company selected to contribute to this initiative and to
aid in the process of bringing products to the market that
will directly benefit patients with genetic diseases. Oxford
BioMedica is currently evaluating how it can expand the application
of the LentiVector technology for other inherited disorders,
in addition to haemophilia, while retaining its essential
focus on bringing its current product pipeline in cancer
and neurotherapy to the market as quickly as possible".
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| Notes
| 1. |
Oxford
BioMedica plc |
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Oxford
BioMedica (LSE: OXB) is a biopharmaceutical
company specialising in the development
of novel gene-based therapeutics with
a focus on the areas of oncology and
neurotherapy. The Company was established
in 1995 as a spin out from Oxford University,
and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In
addition to its technical expertise in
gene delivery, Oxford BioMedica has
in-house clinical, regulatory and manufacturing
know-how. The development pipeline includes
two novel anti-cancer products in clinical
trials; and two neurotherapy products in
advanced preclinical development for Parkinson’s
disease and retinopathy. The Company is
underpinned by an extensive preclinical
and research portfolio and about 70 patent
families, which represents one of the broadest
patent estates in the field.
The
Company has a staff of ~65 split between
its main facilities in Oxford and its wholly
owned subsidiary, BioMedica Inc, in San
Diego, California. Oxford BioMedica has
corporate collaborations with Wyeth, Intervet,
Merck & Co, Amersham and Kiadis.
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| 2. |
LentiVector® technology |
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Oxford
BioMedica has three issued US patents for
its LentiVector technology.
These include broad composition of matter
claims and methods of production claims for
lentiviral vector gene delivery systems of
both human and non-human origin. The patents
also cover derivatives of lentiviral vector
systems that, unlike many versions of lentiviral
vectors, have real clinical utility because
of their safety. The Oxford 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 these
patents. 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 Oxford BioMedica’s system of choice
because of its superior safety profile. Oxford
BioMedica’s LentiVector gene
delivery technology is arguably the most
potent system currently available for
treating diseases of the central nervous
system,
particularly chronic neurodegenerative
disorders. Oxford BioMedica has shown
that minimal lentiviral vectors are able
to
deliver genes to a wide range of dividing
and non-dividing cells, including neurones
in the brain.
The Company has established a neurotherapy
pipeline of product candidates based on
its LentiVector technology, which includes
ProSavin® for Parkinson’s
disease, RetinoStat® for
retinopathy, MoNudin™ for
motor neuron disease and Innurex® for
nerve repair.
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| 3. |
Requinate™ and
Haemophilia A |
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Requinate comprises a
LentiVector system encoding a modified
human Factor VIII gene, which has been
engineered to enhance protein production.
Following successful preclinical studies
Oxford BioMedica intends to progress clinical
development in collaboration with the Oxford
Haemophilia Centre at the Churchill Hospital
under the guidance of Dr. Paul Giangrande
and Dr. David Keeling.
People with haemophilia A do not produce
adequate amounts of Factor VIII, which
is necessary to effectively clot blood.
Without enough Factor VIII, patients can
experience spontaneous, uncontrolled internal
bleeding that is painful, debilitating
and damaging to joints. If untreated, patients
with severe haemophilia A have a greatly
reduced life expectancy.
According to the World Federation of Haemophilia,
more than 400,000 people in the world may
have haemophilia A and it affects 15-20
of every 100,000 males born worldwide.
People with haemophilia A infuse themselves
with clotting factors three times a month,
on average, unless they are on a preventive
regimen, in which case their physician
may prescribe infusing a therapy as often
as three or four times per week.
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further information please contact:
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Oxford BioMedica plc
Professor Alan
Kingsman, Chief Executive
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Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000 |
| City/Financial
Enquiries
Mike
Wort/James Chandler
Beattie Financial |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7398 3300
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Press Enquiries
Sue
Charles, Katja
Stout,
College Hill - Life Sciences |
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7886 8150 |
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