Successful patent application

Oxford Biomedica PLC 27 March 2001 For immediate release 2001/OB/09 27 March 2001 For further information, please contact: Oxford BioMedica plc Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000 City/Financial Enquiries: David Simonson/Melanie Toyne Sewell Merlin Financial Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 7606 1244 Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries: Chris Gardner, HCC De Facto Group Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3300 OXFORD BIOMEDICA OBTAINS GENE THERAPY PATENT IN THE USA Oxford, England - 27 March 2001. Oxford BioMedica announced today that it had received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent Office for a patent covering broad aspects of lentiviral vectors and their use in gene therapy, target validation, and gene discovery. This technology forms an important part of Oxford BioMedica's Lentivector(R) intellectual property that is protected by a raft of patent and patent applications. One of the aspects of this technology covers a novel genetic switch which improves and/or regulates how specific genes are expressed in a cell from a lentiviral vector. These vectors are particularly useful in Oxford BioMedica's expanding neurobiology programmes. Commenting on the news, Oxford BioMedica's Chief Executive, Professor Alan Kingsman said: 'We are delighted that the US patent office has granted this patent. We already have a substantial portfolio of patents in the area of gene therapy vector design and use, since it is a key area of our technology and it is important for us to protect the intellectual property of the Company. With some of the proceeds from the recent fundraising, our intentions are to continue to extend the intellectual property portfolio of the Company.' -Ends- Notes to Editors 1. Oxford BioMedica plc 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, Neurobiology and Genetic Deficiency. Oxford BioMedica plc was floated on the UK Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 1996 and has recently announced its proposed move to the Official List of the London Stock Exchange. 2. Lentivirus vector systems In gene therapy, the aim is to deliver a gene and its necessary regulatory elements (the gene construct) to the cell surface, using a vector to mediate the transfer across the cell membrane and, in some cases, into the nucleus. A new and potentially very powerful vector system is based on lentiviruses, which have similar features to retroviruses in the ease of manipulation, predictable integration and reliable gene expression and regulation. However, their main advantage over retroviruses is the ability to function in non-dividing cells or cells that are dividing slowly - a feature of many clinically important tissues 3. Types of lentiviruses Lentivirus vectors are constructed from two sources: + primate viruses e.g. human or simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV or SIV) + non-primate viruses e.g. feline and bovine immunodeficiency viruses (FIV and BIV), and one of the most simple, equine infective anaemia virus (EIAV) 4. Worldwide web This release is also available on the Worldwide Web at http:// www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk 5. Section 57 N M Rothschild & Sons Limited, which is regulated in the UK by The Securities and Futures Authority Limited, has approved the contents of this document for the purposes of Section 57 of the Financial Services Act 1986.
UK 100

Latest directors dealings