OXFORD BIOMEDICA RECEIVES NOTICE OF ALLOWANCE FOR KEY US PATENT COVERING PARKINSON’S DISEASE PRODUCT, PROSAVIN®

Oxford BioMedica (LSE:OXB), a leading gene therapy company, announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent Office for a key patent application, which significantly extends the protection of ProSavin, the Company’s lead product candidate for Parkinson’s disease. It is expected that the patent will be issued during 2006. This patent describes the genetic composition of ProSavin, and as such is an important addition to the portfolio of patents that protect the product.

The product comprises the Company’s LentiVector® gene delivery system carrying three genes that programme cells to produce dopamine, the neurotransmitter that is lost during the course of Parkinson’s disease. The assembly and configuration of the three genes to achieve the optimal dopamine production were major technical achievements, and these form the basis of this key ProSavin patent.

Importantly, the claims allowed by the US Patent and Trademark Office are broad and not only cover the Company’s LentiVector-based genetic configuration of ProSavin but also cover the basic gene constructs central to the development of ProSavin. In addition, the claims cover any LentiVector-based neurodegenerative disease product that uses the same general configuration with any therapeutic genes. Hence, the patent provides protection for new product candidates that the Company may develop for the treatment of other neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

ProSavin is the lead product in Oxford BioMedica’s neurotherapy pipeline and has shown promising, long term efficacy in industry-standard preclinical models of Parkinson’s disease. The Company has initiated regulatory consultation for the start of Phase I/II trials in patients with the disease.

Commenting on the news, Oxford BioMedica’s Chief Executive, Professor Alan Kingsman said: "ProSavin is one of the major value drivers for Oxford BioMedica after TroVax. This patent secures our control of the intellectual property for the product, which has shown exceptional preclinical efficacy.”