New Development Partner

Oxford Biomedica PLC
24 October 2002


For immediate release
24 October 2002


                    ARIUS RESEARCH INC AND OXFORD BIOMEDICA PLC.

                    COLLABORATION ATTRACTS FIRST DEVELOPMENT PARTNER IN
                                    PROTEIN DESIGN LABS INC.

Oxford, United Kingdom and Toronto, Canada - 24 October 2002. Oxford BioMedica
plc (LSE:OXB) ('BioMedica') announced today that the research and development
collaboration with ARIUS Research Inc (YAR) (Canada), which began on 25 July
2002 to search for targets and develop novel products to treat cancer, has
attracted a development partner, Protein Design Labs, Inc (PDL) for two of the
antibodies.  PDL, located in Freemont, California, is a leading player in the
development of humanized monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment
of disease.


Under the ARIUS collaboration BioMedica will identify the cognate antigens for
H460-16-2 and ARH460-22-1, two of the fifty ARIUS antibodies that are the
subject of the BioMedica/ARIUS collaboration.  PDL has the option to humanize,
develop and market the two antibodies.  ARIUS would receive, should PDL exercise
its option to license the antibodies, licensing fees and milestone payments,
contingent upon future development outcomes.  BioMedica would be entitled to a
percentage royalty on any income from the PDL deal. The collaboration between
BioMedica and ARIUS is designed to provide a pipeline of cancer immunotherapy
products that will be marketed jointly to the industry.  This new agreement with
PDL is the first to arise form these efforts.  ARIUS initially presented
favourable pre-clinical results for ARH460-22-1 and ARH460-16-2 in July 2002 at
a meeting of the International Union against Cancer in Oslo, Norway.



This agreement represents significant external validation of ARIUS' technology
for developing anti-cancer antibodies and highlights the immediate value of the
collaborative programme between BioMedica and ARIUS.



Commenting on the collaboration, BioMedica's chief executive, Prof. Alan
Kingsman said:



'The PDL agreement comes less than three months after ARIUS announced a separate
joint venture agreement with BioMedica.  This deal confirms the value of our
collaboration with ARIUS and we hope that more deals are to follow in the
future.'



Commenting on the collaboration ARIUS's chief executive, David Young said:



'These agreements illustrate the opportunities and value in our library and
approach to partnering.  Partnering with BioMedica gives both companies new
opportunities through rapid target identification and PDL will help realise the
potential from the antibody and its target through their strength ad drug
development.'



Background:

It is now well established that tumours display unique proteins or over-express
normal proteins on their surface that can act as antigens or targets for the
immune system. They are called Tumour Associated Antigens (TAA's). Normally the
immune system fails to react to these proteins and an immune response is not
normally observed in cancer. However, it is possible using immunotherapy to
target these antigens either using therapeutic antibodies or vaccines and
generate a therapeutic anti-cancer response. ARIUS has produced functional
antibodies against tumour tissues that are the subject of this collaboration.
Oxford BioMedica has expertise in the identification of TAA's and the
development of antibody and vaccine therapies for the treatment of cancer.



                                     -Ends-


For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive                                     Tel: [phone]
City/Financial Enquiries:

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

Sue Charles, Katja Stout: Charles Consultants                                Tel: [phone]



Notes to Editors



1.         Oxford BioMedica plc


Established in 1995 as a spin out from Oxford University, Oxford BioMedica is an
international biotechnology company with a diverse portfolio of products and
technology, specialising in gene-based products and technology in the areas of
cancer, neurological disease, cardiovascular disease and blood disorders. This
is underpinned by over 70 patent families, about quarter of which are issued.
Oxford BioMedica plc was floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the
London Stock Exchange in December 1996, and was promoted to the United Kingdom
Listing Authority Official List in April 2001 following a successful £35.5
million fund-raising.



Oxford BioMedica is headquartered in Oxford, UK and has a wholly-owned
subsidiary in San Diego, USA



Currently Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with Aventis, IDM,
Amersham, Valentis, Virbac and Wyeth. BioMedica has two products in Phase I/II
clinical trials: MetXia(R) for late-stage breast cancer, and TroVax(R) for
late-stage colorectal cancer.



2.         About ARIUS Research



ARIUS Research Inc. is a medical biotechnology company committed to the rapid
discovery and development of functional anti-cancer antibodies. To date, through
its proprietary approach to antibody generation, ARIUS has established a library
of over 100 functional antibodies. Current research is focused on breast,
colorectal, lung cancer and melanoma. Working independently and through
partnerships, ARIUS intends to expand its research into related areas, including
other gastro-intestinal cancers, ovarian and prostate cancers. The long-term
vision of the company is to deliver personalised therapy through groups of
monoclonal antibodies. Shares of ARIUS Research Inc. are traded on the TSX under
the symbol 'YAR'





3.       World Wide Web



Further information is available on the World Wide Web at http://
www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk  and at www.ariusresearch.com.




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