Bioinformatics Collaboration

Oxford Biomedica PLC
26 September 2000


For further information, please contact:       
Oxford BioMedica plc       
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive       Tel: [phone]
City/Financial Enquiries:
David Simonson/Melanie Toyne Sewell            Tel: [phone]
Merlin Financial Communications       


Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:
Sue Charles/Katya Stout, HCC De Facto Group    Tel:  [phone]      


OXFORD BIOMEDICA ANNOUNCES BIOINFORMATICS 
COLLABORATION WITH INFORMAX

OXFORD BIOMEDICA TO BE FIRST GENOMAX(TM)USER IN UK


Oxford, UK - 26 September 2000: Oxford BioMedica plc announced today that it
has entered into a software licensing agreement with InforMax Inc., Rockville,
Md, USA. InforMax is a leading global provider of bioinformatics software
solutions for accelerated drug discovery.

The software licensing agreement is the cornerstone of a bioinformatics
collaboration between BioMedica and InforMax in which BioMedica will have
access to InforMax's latest software. This will be used to analyse and
interpret the genomics data arising from BioMedica's new Gene Discovery
Division.  BioMedica and InforMax will also work together to promote
InforMax's products and services in Europe, with BioMedica acting as the first
reference site in the UK. Furthermore, BioMedica and InforMax have agreed to
enter discussions about marketing jointly the genetic information produced
from BioMedica's gene discovery programmes. BioMedica will retain, however
full commercial licensing rights to the genes themselves and the products
derived from them.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Rockville, Md., InforMax, Inc. is a
global leader in bioinformatics. This is an essential technology for
addressing the challenge of unravelling the meaning of the enormous amount of
biological and chemical data that has recently become available in the public
domain.  InforMax provides solutions for the analysis and interpretation of
genomic, proteomic and other biomolecular data and has a large international
customer network composed of leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies.  

The software solutions being used by BioMedica are GenoMax(TM)and the Vector
NTI(TM)Suite.  GenoMax(TM)is an 'enterprise' bioinformatics system that
facilitates high-speed analysis of both public and proprietary genetic data
sets within a secure environment.  The Vector NTI(TM)Suite comprises four
major application programs that assist with the mapping, analysis and assembly
of gene fragments.

With InforMax's software, BioMedica's bioinformatics system will be used to
analyse its results in the context of the information published on the
Internet and on private databases. These databases include, for example, the
results of human-gene-mapping research stored in the Genome Database and
DNA-sequence information stored in several databases, including NIH's GenBank,
Swiss-Prot and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's Nucleotide Sequence
Database. 

Commenting on the InforMax agreement, BioMedica's Chief Executive Professor
Alan Kingsman said: 
'We are very pleased to be working with InforMax which has developed powerful
software tools that complement our existing gene hunting capabilities. The
agreement gives BioMedica the benefit of InforMax's large team of in-house
bioinformatics specialists. This collaboration will enable us to increase the
efficiency and speed of analysis of the exciting results yielded by our
proprietary Smartomics(TM) technologies and will be a key component in
establishing a strong patent portfolio in this field.' 


Notes to Editors

1. Oxford BioMedica 

Established in 1995, the Company specialises in the development and
application of gene-based therapeutics using advanced gene delivery
technologies for the treatment of disease in the areas of oncology, viral
infection and neurodegenerative disease. Oxford BioMedica plc was floated on
the UK Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in December
1996. 

BioMedica, well known for its leading edge gene therapy technology and its
target validation technology using LentiVector(R), recently raised £8.5m to
develop its Gene Discovery Division. The Company also announced recently its
first discovery from the new division, novel genes that may be drug targets
for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease and arthritis.

2. BioMedica's Gene Discovery Division 

An increasing amount of data about genes and their relationship with disease
is being generated by the genomics and proteomics industries. In addition the
completion of the Human Genome Project is starting to provide a vast source of
genetic data. The key challenge that faces the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industry now is to derive value from these data by producing new
products to treat major diseases. BioMedica is meeting this challenge with two
proprietary technologies, SmartomicsTM and LentiVector(R).

3. Smartomics(TM)

Smartomics(TM)is a 'knowledge-based' system using BioMedica's gene delivery
systems to improve the output of genomic and proteomic screens. The technology
works by selectively amplifying the activity of disease-related genes. This
makes these important genes easier to identify and it provides more
information on their function. The improved screening process using
BioMedica's proprietary LentiVector(R) technology allows rapid identification
of a more select group of genes, of which a much larger proportion are
mechanistically linked to a particular disease. This should provide a faster
route to product development, and products derived from the genes should be
patented more effectively. 

4. LentiVector(R) Technology

LentiVector(R) Technology makes use of a heavily engineered virus, Equine
Infectious Anaemia Virus, to deliver genes to a wide range of cell types,
including non-dividing primary cells. The vector was developed as part of the
Company's gene therapy programmes. The technology can also be used to
identify, amongst the many hundreds of genes emerging from genomics and
proteomics programmes, those few genes that are directly involved in disease
mechanisms and which are, therefore, the prime targets for pharmaceutical
product development. This is known as Target Validation. BioMedica has already
signed deals in this area with AstraZeneca and Aventis and there are other
deals in discussion. 

5. InforMax

Headquartered in Rockville, Md., InforMax, Inc. is a global leader in
bioinformatics, providing solutions for the analysis and interpretation of
genomic, proteomic and other biomolecular data.  InforMax, founded in 1990 by
Dr. Alex Titomirov, enables over 20,000 researchers worldwide to achieve
greater insights into genetic function through biological data mining and
integrated genomics analysis.  Presently, InforMax offers Vector NTI(TM) Suite
desktop sequence analysis software and GenoMax(TM)enterprise bioinformatics
system.  Additional information about InforMax can be found at the company's
site on the World Wide Web at www.informaxinc.com.

- GenoMax(TM)
  GenoMax is an enterprise bioinformatics system that facilitates high-speed  
  analysis of both public and proprietary genetic data sets within the        
  security of the corporate firewall. GenoMax(TM) offers speed, security, and 
  scalability through the employment of client-server architecture,           
  Oracle(R)relational databases, and a sophisticated Java-based graphical user
  interface. To complete the delivery of a High Throughput Research(TM)
  (HTR TM)environment, InforMax offers GenoMax modules for Sequence Analysis, 
  Gene Expression Analysis, and Protein 3D Structure. Additional modules that 
  are currently in development for integration into GenoMax include Genomic   
  Viewing, Protein-Protein Interaction and SNP Analysis. 

- Vector NTI(TM)Suite
  The Vector NTI(TM) Suite consists of four major application programs,       
  including: Vector NTI(R) for mapping and illustration, primer design and    
  analysis, and strategic recombinant design; BioPlot(TM) for protein and     
  nucleic acid sequence analysis; AlignXVfor multiple sequence alignment; and 
  ContigExpressTM for sequencing project management and fragment assembly. All
  the programs of the suite are integrated on the user's desktop.  


This release is also available on the World Wide Web at: 
http://www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk