Oxford, UK – 23 February 2015: Oxford BioMedica plc (LSE: OXB), (“OXB” or “the Company”) a leading gene and cell therapy company, today welcomed the Rt Hon Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, to its laboratories on the Oxford Science Park.
During the visit, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury toured the Company’s process development lab, a facility dedicated to the development of robust and scalable manufacturing processes for gene and cell based therapies that have the potential to transform medicine.
In recognition of Oxford BioMedica’s leading position in gene and cell therapy, the Company was awarded a combination of grant and loan funding worth £7.1 million under the UK Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) in 2013. The funding was awarded to the Company to support Oxford BioMedica in becoming a world-leader and UK Centre of Excellence in the manufacture and supply chain of gene and cell based therapies.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: “Our science base is one of the UK’s most prized economic assets and I want us to remain a world-leader in science. That’s why this government has committed £345m to the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) to help strengthen and grow advanced manufacturing supply chains in the UK.
“It’s great to visit Oxford BioMedica, which has invested AMSCI funding into becoming a world leader in the biopharmaceutical sector, creating new highly skilled local jobs that contribute to a stronger regional and national economy.”
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioMedica, said: “Positive actions in life sciences by the government in recent years have helped to create a much more encouraging funding environment in the UK. Specific items such as R&D tax breaks and the Innovate UK fund have been enormously helpful and the AMSCI funding in particular has undoubtedly helped us to win a major contract with Novartis in the field of cell therapy last year.”
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For further information, please contact:
Oxford BioMedica plc:
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer
Tim Watts, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000
Media Enquiries:
Mary-Jane Elliott/ Matthew Neal/ Chris Welsh/ Laura Thornton
Consilium Strategic Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
Notes for editors
About Oxford BioMedica®
Oxford BioMedica plc (LSE: OXB) is a leading gene and cell therapy company with an unrivalled portfolio of gene therapy products in development and a platform of exclusive and pioneering technologies with which it designs, develops and manufactures unique gene-based medicines for some of world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Leveraging its proprietary LentiVector® IP and gene delivery system technology platform and unique tumour antigen (5T4), Oxford BioMedica is advancing its pipeline of seven gene therapy products addressing diseases for which there are currently no treatments or that are inadequately treated today, including ocular and central nervous system disorders. OXB Solutions, the Company’s industry-leading manufacturing and development business, provides services to collaborators and partners working in gene and cell therapy, including Novartis and Immune Design Corp. In addition, the Company has licenced products and IP to Sanofi, Pfizer, MolMed, Sigma-Aldrich, Biogen Idec, Emergent BioSolutions and ImaginAb. Further information is available at www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk and www.oxbsolutions.co.uk .
