Oxford Biomedica inks LSA with US biotech firm, launches new project with Orchard Therapeutics

Gene and cell therapy group Oxford Biomedica inked a new licence and supply agreement with an unnamed US private biotechnology on Tuesday company and also launched a new project with Orchard Therapeutics.

Oxford Biomedica said it had signed a new licence and supply agreement with an undisclosed US-based company that will grant its new partner a non-exclusive licence to utilise the firm's LentiVector platform for its application in its lead CAR-T programme.

Under the terms of the three-year clinical supply agreement, Oxford Biomedica will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, as well as additional payments related to the development and manufacturing of lentiviral vectors for use in clinical trials. It will also receive certain development and regulatory milestone payments and an undisclosed royalty on net sales of products sold that utilise its LentiVector platform.

Chief financial officer Stuart Paynter said: "This new partnership further demonstrates the strength of our LentiVector platform. This is another example of our important role in supporting the development of potentially life-saving CAR-T therapies and has been made possible by the fact we've been able to offer strategically re-acquired targets to our customers."

Separately, Oxford Biomedica said its new project with Orchard Therapeutics will see its LentiStable technology platform be used to develop a producer cell line capable of stably expressing lentiviral vectors.

"Using this technology, the project will be focused on developing high-performing candidate clones for Orchard Therapeutics' OTL-203, an investigational hemopoietic stem cell gene therapy in development for the potential treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis type I Hurler's syndrome. As part of an existing collaboration, established in November 2016, Orchard Therapeutics will explore the technology to increase the manufacturing efficiency and scalability of HSC gene therapy," said the company.

As of 0945 BST, Oxford Biomedica shares were up 0.66% at 460.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com