Interim Management Statement
Oxford Biomedica PLC
09 May 2008
For immediate release 9 MAY 2008
OXFORD BIOMEDICA
INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
Oxford, UK - 9 May 2008: Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB), a leading gene therapy
company, is today issuing its Interim Management Statement (IMS) for the period
1 January 2008 to 8 May 2008. The IMS provides a financial review for this
period and an update on the Company's operations since the publication on 10
March 2008 of its preliminary results for the full year to 31 December 2007.
The overall performance of the business during the period has been in line with
the Board's expectations. The Company has achieved or made good progress towards
achieving several of its key objectives for 2008, which were defined in the 2007
Annual Report and Accounts and include advancing key development programmes and
effectively managing cash resources.
Operational highlights:
TroVax(R): cancer
• Patient enrolment was completed in the Phase III TRIST study of TroVax
in renal cancer in March 2008. A total of 733 patients have been enrolled at
over 100 sites in the USA, European Union and Eastern Europe. The trial started
in November 2006, recruitment has been completed on schedule and final results
from the study are anticipated in the first half of 2009.
• Encouraging results were reported from a Phase II trial of TroVax in
27 patients with prostate cancer in March 2008. All evaluable patients mounted
an anti-cancer immune response and 83% experienced disease stabilisation.
Importantly, the immune response induced by TroVax was associated with a
statistically significant improvement in time to disease progression.
ProSavin(R): Parkinson's disease
• To date, two patients have been treated in the Phase I/II trial of
ProSavin in Parkinson's disease. The trial is designed to evaluate safety and
efficacy. There have been no serious adverse events following the surgical
administration of ProSavin. The third and final patient in the first-dose cohort
is scheduled for treatment imminently and the trial is on track to report
initial data in Q3 2008.
Financial highlights:
• Cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits remain sufficient to
support ongoing operations to the end of 2009, based on planned expenditure and
without anticipating further milestone revenue from the TroVax collaboration
with sanofi-aventis.
• Net expenditure and cash flow for the period ended 8 May 2008 were
in line with the Company's expectations. The cash position during the period was
augmented by the receipt of €10 million from sanofi-aventis, which was triggered
by the achievement of a milestone in the TroVax collaboration.
• Revenue for the full year, comprising milestone payments received
and release of deferred income is expected to be in the range of £16-19 million,
which is an increase of approximately 140% over 2007.
Board changes:
• Changes to the Board were announced on 15 April 2008, which reflect
Oxford BioMedica's stage of growth and are aligned with the Company's strategic
focus on clinical development and commercialisation of its lead drug candidates.
These changes will become effective on 1 July 2008:
• Professor Alan Kingsman will be appointed as Chairman; Dr Peter Johnson
will retire as Non-Executive Chairman.
• Dr Mike McDonald, currently Chief Medical Officer, will be appointed Chief
Executive Officer.
• Dr Stuart Naylor, currently Senior Vice President, Research & Development,
will be appointed Chief Scientific Officer and will join the Board.
Professor Susan Kingsman will continue to serve the Company on an exclusive
basis as Senior Scientific Consultant.
• Nick Rodgers, the Company's Senior Independent Director, will assume the
role of Deputy Chairman.
• The Board has been strengthened by the appointment of Dr Alex Lewis as
Non-Executive Director and the Company is seeking to make another
Non-Executive appointment.
Oxford BioMedica's Chief Executive Officer, Professor Alan Kingsman, commented:
'We have made excellent progress in the first few months of 2008, completing
enrolment for TRIST, starting the ProSavin phase I/II trial and meeting the
requirement for a further milestone payment from our partner sanofi-aventis.
Oxford BioMedica has established itself as a leader in the field of gene-based
medicines and intends to deliver shareholder value through a combination of
outlicensing to partners and developing its own sale and marketing capability
for selected products. The recently announced Board changes reflect our
increasing emphasis on clinical development and commercialisation. The Company
is well positioned to deliver on its objectives for the year and its strategy of
creating a profitable biopharmaceutical company. In particular, we look forward
to reporting key clinical results from the ongoing trials of our lead
candidates, TroVax and ProSavin, over the next 12 months.'
Oxford BioMedica will be holding its Annual General Meeting today, Friday, 9 May
2008, 11.00am, at the offices of Morrison & Foerster MNP, CityPoint, One
Ropemaker Street, London EC2Y 9AW. A notice of the 2008 Annual General Meeting
was sent to shareholders on 3 April 2008.
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc:
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000
JPMorgan Cazenove Limited:
James Mitford/ Gina Gibson Tel: +44 (0)20 7588 2828
City/Financial Enquiries:
Lisa Baderoon/ Mark Court/ Mary-Jane Johnson Buchanan Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000
Communications
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:
Holly Griffiths/ Katja Stout/ Claire Mosley Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 2020
College Hill Life Sciences
US Enquiries:
Thomas Fechtner Tel: (646) 378 2900
The Trout Group LLC
Notes to editors
1. Oxford BioMedica
Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in
cancer immunotherapy and gene-based therapies. The Company was established in
1995, as a spin-out from Oxford University, and is listed on the London Stock
Exchange.
The Company has a platform of gene delivery technologies, which are based on
highly engineered viral systems. Oxford BioMedica also has in-house clinical,
regulatory and manufacturing know-how. The lead product candidate is TroVax(R),
a therapeutic vaccine for multiple solid cancers, which is licensed to
sanofi-aventis for global development and commercialisation. TroVax is in Phase
III development. Oxford BioMedica has three other products in clinical
development, including ProSavin(R), a novel gene-based treatment for Parkinson's
disease, in a Phase I/II trial. 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 approximately 85. Oxford BioMedica has collaborations
with sanofi-aventis, Wyeth, Sigma-Aldrich, MolMed and Virxsys. Technology
licensees include Biogen Idec, Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.
Further information is available at www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange