Licensing Agreement

Oxford Biomedica PLC
01 February 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           1 FEBRUARY 2005


            OXFORD BIOMEDICA SIGNS LENTIVECTOR(R) LICENSING AGREEMENT


Oxford, UK:  1 February 2005 - Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB), the leading gene
therapy company, announced today that it has signed a further licence agreement
for its LentiVector technology with a large biopharmaceutical company. For
commercial reasons, the identity of the counterparty is not disclosed. The
agreement permits the use of the Company's proprietary LentiVector gene delivery
system for research activities. Under the terms of the agreement, Oxford
BioMedica will receive an upfront licence payment and an annual maintenance fee.
Further financial details were not disclosed.


Oxford BioMedica's lentivirus-based gene delivery technology, known as
LentiVector, is one of the most powerful technologies for the delivery of genes
to a wide range of cell and tissue types. The LentiVector technology has
applications both in therapeutic products and as a drug discovery tool for
target validation and the creation of targeted disease models. It has also been
shown to enhance the efficiency of making transgenic birds and mammals. Oxford
BioMedica has a comprehensive portfolio of US and European patents that cover
the LentiVector technology.


Commenting on the news Oxford BioMedica's Senior Vice President Commercial
Development, Peter Nolan, said: 'The versatility and safety of lentiviral
vectors make them the system of choice for gene target validation in the drug
discovery process as well as for the direct therapeutic applications in
neurotherapy that Oxford BioMedica is pursuing. We are pleased that an
increasing number of companies are using the LentiVector technology and we
expect to establish a number of new partnerships around the technology in the
near future.'


                                     -Ends-


For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc:
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive               Tel: [phone]
Peter Nolan, SVP Commercial Development
City/Financial Enquiries:
Lisa Baderoon/ Mark Court/ Mary-Jane Johnson
Buchanan Communications                                Tel: [phone]
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries
Sue Charles/ Katja Stout/ Ashley Lilly                 Tel: [phone]
Northbank Communications


Notes to editors

1. Oxford BioMedica

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.


Oxford BioMedica has core expertise in gene delivery, as well as in-house
clinical, regulatory and manufacturing know-how. In oncology, the pipeline
includes an immunotherapy and a gene therapy in multiple Phase II trials, and a
preclinical targeted antibody therapy in collaboration with Wyeth. In
neurotherapy, the Company's lead product is a preclinical gene therapy for
Parkinson's disease. The Company is underpinned by over 80 patent families,
which represent one of the broadest patent estates in the field.


The Company has a staff of approx. 65 split between its main facilities in
Oxford and its wholly owned subsidiary, BioMedica Inc, in San Diego, California.
Oxford BioMedica has collaborations with Wyeth, Intervet, Amersham, Viragen,
MolMed and Kiadis, and has  technology license agreements with Merck & Co and
Biogen Idec.


Further information is available at http://www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk


2. LentiVector technology

Oxford BioMedica's LentiVector gene delivery technology, based on lentiviral
vectors, is arguably the most potent system currently available for treating a
range of diseases, particularly those of the central nervous system. Oxford
BioMedica has shown that its lentiviral vectors are able to deliver genes with
high efficiency to a variety of both dividing and non-dividing cells, including
neurons in the brain.


Oxford BioMedica has three issued US patents and a European patent 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 Company has established a neurotherapy pipeline of product candidates based
on its LentiVector technology, which includes ProSavin(R) for Parkinson's disease,
RetinoStat(R) for retinopathy, MoNudin(R) for motor neuron disease, SMN1-G for
spinal muscular atrophy and Innurex(R) for nerve repair. Current licensees of the
LentiVector technology for drug discovery and transgenic applications include
Merck & Co and Biogen Idec.






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