Oxford Biodyn Regulatory News (OBD)

Oxford BioDynamics signs lease for new lab and office spaceat Oxford Business Park, supporting expanded strategy

Oxford, UK - 9 April 2021 - Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD, the Company), a biotechnology company developing precision medicine tests for personalized healthcare based on the EpiSwitch® 3D genomics platform, has signed a lease agreement for new laboratory and office space at Oxford Business Park, to significantly expand its UK facilities.

The 24,000 sq ft premises will house the Company's growing UK infrastructure, as it continues the execution of its expanded strategic focus, announced in December 2020. The new lease follows the recent launches of OBD's EpiSwitch® CST (Covid Severity Test) and its EpiSwitch® Explorer Array Kit.

The larger space will allow OBD to operate independent processing lines for commercial test development and product support, biomarker discovery contracts, clinical trial support and internal R&D projects. The new facility will also provide custom-designed space for product manufacturing, sample and consumables storage, as well as offices and meeting rooms to accommodate the entire UK team.

Development work is expected to be completed in late July 2021. Financial details were not disclosed.

Dr Jon Burrows, CEO of Oxford BioDynamics, said:

"This new lease comes at an exciting time for OBD, following the launch of both our prognostic test for COVID-19 severity and the EpiSwitch® Explorer Array Kit. It marks the next important step of the continued roll-out of our expanded strategic focus.

"We moved into our current reference laboratory on the Oxford Business Park in 2015 and expanded it in 2018; this new lease reflects the next stage of our growth. We enjoy excellent support from our landlord, Arlington, and the team at the Business Park. We are very happy to be staying with them as we grow."

Daniel Williams, Development Director of Arlington, added:

"We are delighted to continue supporting the successful growth of Oxford BioDynamics. Signing this new lease at Building 3140 is testament to our customer-focused approach. With our commitment to deliver the highest quality, flexible workspaces within an amenity rich environment, our Life Science community is thriving. We look forward to working with OBD for many more years to come."

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About Oxford BioDynamics Plc

Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) is a global biotechnology company, advancing personalized healthcare by developing and commercializing precision medicine tests for life-changing diseases.

The Company has developed a proprietary 3D genomic biomarker platform, EpiSwitch®, which can build molecular diagnostic classifiers for prediction of response to therapy, patient prognosis, disease diagnosis and subtyping, and residual disease monitoring in a wide range of indications.

In March 2021, the Company launched its first commercial prognostic test, EpiSwitch® CST (Covid Severity Test) and the first commercially available microarray kit for high-resolution 3D genome profiling and biomarker discovery, EpiSwitch® Explorer Array Kit. Its next product will be a predictive immune response profile for immuno-oncology (IO) checkpoint inhibitor treatments, to be launched later in 2021.

Oxford BioDynamics has participated in more than 40 partnerships with big pharma and leading institutions including Pfizer, EMD Serono, Genentech, Roche, Biogen, Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.

The Company has created a valuable technology portfolio, including biomarker arrays, molecular diagnostic tests, bioinformatic tools for 3D genomics and an expertly curated 3D genome knowledgebase comprising hundreds of millions of data points from over 10,000 samples in more than 30 human diseases. 

OBD is headquartered in Oxford, UK and is listed on AIM of the London Stock Exchange. It also has a commercial team in the US and a reference laboratory in Penang, Malaysia

For more information, please visit the Company's website, www.oxfordbiodynamics.com, or follow on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About EpiSwitch®

The 3D configuration of the genome plays a crucial role in gene regulation. By mapping this architecture and identifying abnormal configurations, EpiSwitch® can be used to diagnose patients or determine how individuals might respond to a disease or treatment.

Built on over 10 years of research, EpiSwitch® is Oxford Biodynamics' award-winning, proprietary platform that enables screening, evaluation, validation and monitoring of 3D genomic biomarkers. The technology is fully developed, based on testing of over 10,000 samples in 30 disease areas, and reduced to practice.

In addition to stratifying patients with respect to anticipated clinical outcome, EpiSwitch® data offer insights into systems biology and the physiological manifestation of disease that are beyond the scope of other molecular modalities. The technology has performed well in academic medical research settings and has been validated through its integration in biomarker discovery and clinical development with big pharma.

Oxford BioDynamics is leveraging its technology to develop a pipeline of tests in a wide range of indications, such as immuno-oncology, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, to follow its commercial EpiSwitch® CST (Covid Severity Test).