Last checked at 8 Apr 2020 07:00
Oxford Biomedica joins Consortium to rapidly develop a COVID-19 vaccine candidate
· Consortium led by Jenner Institute, University of Oxford
· Fast-tracked clinical trial of ChAdOx1 nCOV-19 vaccine candidate starts this month
Oxford, UK - 8th April, 2020: Oxford Biomedica plc (LSE:OXB) ("Oxford Biomedica" or "the Group"), a leading gene and cell therapy group, announced today it has joined a Consortium led by the Jenner Institute, Oxford University, to rapidly develop, scale-up and manufacture a potential vaccine candidate for COVID-19, called ChAdOx1 nCov-19. This vaccine candidate is one of the leading vaccine candidates currently in development globally, and is expected to be the UK's first COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials later this month. The Consortium is led by the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford and also includes the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), Pall Life Sciences, Cobra Biologics and Halix BV.
The Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group have recruited individuals aged 18-55 from the Thames Valley area in the UK to study the vaccine's safety and efficacy (see https://www.covid19vaccinetrial.co.uk/). Oxford Biomedica will provide access to its large scale GMP manufacturing facilities for viral vectors, including its new Oxbox facility, to the Consortium as required, which, along with other Consortium manufacturing partners in the UK and internationally, would allow for scaled manufacturing capacity should the safety and efficacy of the vaccine candidate be confirmed in clinical trials.
The Oxford vaccine candidate relies on adenoviral vector technology, ChAdOx1, developed at the Jenner Institute, in Oxford. It is seen as one of the most promising vaccine technologies for COVID-19 as ChAdOx1 has been shown to generate a strong immune response from one dose and it has demonstrated a good safety profile in pre-clinical and clinical trials conducted to date. No financial terms were disclosed.
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Biomedica, said: "As an established clinical and commercial manufacturer of viral vectors, we are very pleased to be in a strong position in terms of capacity and capabilities to support the important and urgent efforts of the Consortium led by the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, to develop and scale up manufacturing of this promising vaccine candidate for COVID-19.
"While our current activities on this vaccine candidate are just initiating, should the Consortium confirm there is promise for this candidate in the clinical trial initiating this month, we will play our role within the Consortium to scale up manufacturing as fast as possible. This will help to provide significant access to the vaccine candidate for further clinical trials and potentially, if approved for use, for many people in the UK and beyond."
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Enquiries: |
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Oxford Biomedica plc
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer Stuart Paynter, Chief Financial Officer Catherine Isted, Head of Corporate Development & IR
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T: +44 (0)1865 783 000 T: +44 (0)1865 783 000 T: +44 (0)1865 954 161 / E: ir@oxb.com
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Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott/Matthew Neal |
T: +44 (0)20 3709 5700 |
About Oxford Biomedica
Oxford Biomedica (LSE:OXB) is a leading, fully integrated, 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, CNS disorders, liver diseases and respiratory disease. The Group has also entered into a number of partnerships, including with Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Axovant Gene Therapies, Orchard Therapeutics, Santen, Boehringer Ingelheim, the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium and Imperial Innovations, through which it has long-term economic interests in other potential gene and cell therapy products. Oxford Biomedica is based across several locations in Oxfordshire, UK and employs more than 550 people. Further information is available at www.oxb.com
About Oxbox
Oxbox is Oxford Biomedica's new 7,800 m2 commercial manufacturing centre, located in Oxford, UK. Phase I, which will be operational in 2020, is 4,200 m2 of developed area consisting of six GMP clean room suites - four for viral vector production and two for fill-finish, warehousing and cold chain facilities and support laboratories. Phase II will provide for flexible expansion for a further six GMP clean room suites. This world class facility is suitable for manufacture of a variety of viral vectors and is expected to more than double Oxford Biomedica's manufacturing capacity, supporting further growth in revenues.
About The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford
The Jenner Institute is based within the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. The Jenner Institute brings together investigators who are designing and developing numerous vaccines to generate an exceptional breadth of scientific know-how and clinical expertise.
The Oxford Vaccine Centre's COVID-19 vaccine trial is being run by the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group. The team, who started work on developing a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 on 20th January 2020 is led by Prof. Sarah Gilbert, Prof. Andrew Pollard, Prof. Teresa Lambe, Dr Sandy Douglas, Prof. Catherine Green and Prof. Adrian Hill. For more information about the COVID-19 Oxford Vaccine Trial, please go to https://www.covid19vaccinetrial.co.uk/about.