Oxford Biodyn Regulatory News (OBD)

13 October 2017

Oxford BioDynamics Plc

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

Oxford BioDynamics presents at the Diabetes Asia 2017 Conference

EpiSwitch™ successful in stratifying patients into different stages of type 2 diabetes

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 it has presented a poster at The Diabetes Asia 2017 Conference, 12-15 October 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The poster entitled: "Glycaemic Progression Study Among Population in Penang, Malaysia" was presented from 2.00pm-3.30pm local time on 12 October 2017.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a fast growing health threat with increasing prevalence in Asian populations. From 2006 to 2011, the prevalence of T2D in Malaysia increased by 31%1. Interestingly, most patients with T2D pass through a 'pre-diabetes' phase, where the biochemical threshold for diagnosis has not been reached. Clinical trials have shown that the risk of progression to T2D can be reduced in the pre-diabetes phase.

In this study, 270 people were separated into groups dependent on their diabetes status (healthy, pre-diabetes, diabetes treatment-naive and diabetes with treatment). The glycaemic progression of these individuals was followed-up at six months. After six months, it was found that 44% of participants in the pre-diabetes stage regressed to the healthy stage, however only 4% of participants with diabetes regressed to the healthy stage. Using epigenetic biomarkers identified by OBD's EpiSwitch™ technology, individuals could be accurately stratified to identify those in the pre-diabetes phase, the phase at which diabetes is most likely to be prevented.

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

"This study demonstrates that there is considerable clinical utility in using our EpiSwitch™ technology to identify those at the pre-diabetic phase, and could be a powerful tool in tackling the overall increasing prevalence of diabetes. Our EpiSwitch™ technology has been shown to help stratify, in a rapid and robust way, individuals whether healthy, pre-diabetic or diabetic. We now can identify and concentrate on the individuals at risk of developing the disease; building prognostic stratifications, something that is not currently possible with other biomarker approaches. Type 2 diabetes is a classic example of an epigenetic disease, with a severe impact on healthcare in many countries around the world. We believe that the OBD epigenetic biomarker technology opens new healthcare opportunities for the monitoring and profiling of type 2 diabetes patients. It could help alleviate this particular health threat in Malaysia, and set a successful precedent for other countries and national healthcare institutions."

Reference

1. National Diabetes Registry Report, 2009-2012, Volume 1

For further details contact:

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.