Oxford BioMedica secures £3m grant from Innovate UK

The aims of this grant are closely aligned with the current government national priorities to make the UK a global hub for manufacturing advanced therapies, which will benefit economic growth and create and retain more highly skilled employment.

The grant will be used to support investment in equipment for vector development, vector manufacture, storage and analytical equipment, as well as other items that are key for the operation of vector GMP facilities. In addition, a small part of the grant will be used to support the planning for the transition of GMP suites from the use of adherent to suspension cultures.

BioMedica chief executive officer John Dawson said: "We are delighted that the Innovate UK grant will to keep the UK at the forefront of innovation in industrial viral vector manufacturing. Viral vectors are a crucial component of cell and gene therapies, which offer unprecedented promise for the treatment, long-term management or cure of disease.

“We are pleased that Oxford BioMedica has been selected to contribute our expertise to ensure continued and uninterrupted supply to meet future viral vector demand."

Oxford BioMedica (LSE:OXB) is a leading gene and cell therapy group focused on developing life changing treatments for serious diseases.  Oxford BioMedica and its subsidiaries (the "Group") have built a sector leading lentiviral vector delivery platform (LentiVector^®), which the Group leverages to develop in vivo and ex vivo products both in-house and with partners.

The Group has created a valuable proprietary portfolio of gene and cell therapy product candidates in the areas of oncology, ophthalmology and CNS disorders.

The Group has also entered into a number of partnerships, including with Novartis, Sanofi, GSK, Orchard Therapeutics and Immune Design, through which it has long-term economic interests in other potential gene and cell therapy products.