Oxford Biodyn Regulatory News (OBD)

11 October 2017

Oxford BioDynamics Plc

("OBD" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")

Oxford BioDynamics presents ALS signatures at NEALS

EpiSwitch™ signature is able to diagnose and successfully predict disease progression

Oxford BioDynamics Plc ("OBD" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of epigenetic biomarkers based on regulatory genome architecture for use within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, today announces that its Senior Director, Dr Willem Westra, participated in an Industry Partner Roundtable at the 2017 Annual Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS) Meeting in Florida and presented two distinct epigenetic signatures for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis and prognosis.

The objective of the prospective study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of two epigenetic-based ALS disease signatures for the diagnosis of ALS and for the prognosis of fast versus slow progressing ALS. 100 patients' samples were compared to controls at three and six months following the initial clinical visit. During each visit, participants underwent the ALS-Functional Rating Scale-Revised assessment, forced vital capacity tests, and provided a blood sample that was analysed using EpiSwitch™.

A comparative interrogation of the genomic architecture from healthy and diseased-patient blood samples revealed two unique ALS-related epigenetic signatures: one with diagnostic potential and a second for prognosis prediction. The diagnostic signature reported specificity of 75% and sensitivity of 88% on the validation cohort whilst the prognostic test reported sensitivity and specificity of 80%.

Dr Alexandre Akoulitchev, Chief Scientific Officer of Oxford BioDynamics, commented: 

"We are delighted to present two distinct epigenetic signatures for ALS diagnosis and prognosis at the Annual NEALS Meeting in Florida. This prospective study has delivered two new and unique epigenetic biomarker signatures that have the potential to improve the time to diagnosis and provide a predictive prognosis for the progression of the disease. We look forward to further expanding our EpiSwitchTM ALS studies in close collaboration with leading clinical experts, both in US and UK. Our aim is to contribute to improvement in ALS patient care and to support ALS therapeutic developments by improving diagnostic and prognostic patient stratifications.

The EpiSwitchTM technology, which has already delivered highly valuable stratification results for treatments in rheumatoid arthritis and immuno-oncology, has now demonstrated its potential in neurological conditions and has provided its first valuable contribution into ALS for better disease understanding of patient stratification. This is a result of many years of work for our highly dedicated team and we are greatly inspired by these results and look forward to future developments."

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Notes for Editors

About Oxford BioDynamics Plc

Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) ("Oxford BioDynamics") is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of epigenetic biomarkers for use within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

The Company's award-winning, proprietary technology platform, EpiSwitch™, aims to accelerate the drug discovery and development process, improve the success rate of therapeutic product development and take advantage of the increasing importance of personalised medicine.

In particular, EpiSwitch™ can reduce time to market, failure rates and the costs at every stage of drug discovery. Additionally, the technology provides significant insights into disease mechanisms for drug discovery and product re‐positioning programmes, and enables the personalisation of therapeutics for patients in the context of challenging pricing environments where improved clinical outcomes are critical.

Oxford BioDynamics is headquartered in the UK, and listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM under the ticker "OBD". For more information please visit www.oxfordbiodynamics.com.