Research Update

Oxford Biomedica PLC
29 March 2004



Embargoed until 0700, Monday 29 March 2004                                            2004/OB/04
                                                                                   29 March 2004
For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc

Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive                                Tel: [phone]
City/Financial Enquiries:

Mike Wort, James Chandler, John Moriarty: Beattie Financial             Tel: [phone]
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:

Sue Charles, Katja Stout: Northbank Communications                      Tel: [phone]



OXFORD BIOMEDICA AWARDED £0.5 MILLION FROM THE UK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH GENE
THERAPY RESEARCH PROGRAMME



Oxford, UK: 29 March 2004 - Oxford BioMedica announced today that the Department
of Health has awarded the Company £0.5 million to develop its proprietary
LentiVector(R) 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
RequinateTM. 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'.

-Ends-



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.

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 circa 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.

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


2. LentiVector(R) technology

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(R) for Parkinson's
disease, RetinoStat(R) for retinopathy, MoNudinTM for motor neuron disease and
Innurex(R) for nerve repair.


3. RequinateTM and Haemophilia A

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.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange