Oxford BioMedica reaps rewards of Novartis' FDA approval

Gene and cell therapy group Oxford BioMedica has seen Norvatis' chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, Kymriah, gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for intravenous infusion for its second indication, providing it with a significant boost.

Oxford BioMedica, which has been the sole manufacturer of the lentiviral vector that encodes Kymriah since signing an exclusive agreement with Novartis over the commercial and clinical supply of the product back in July 2017, could potentially receive as much as $100m from the deal over the next three years.

Kymriah, the first CAR-T therapy available in the US for two distinct indications in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, had not yeat been looked at for its potential second indicator - the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy.

As of 1050 BST, Oxford Biomedica shares had gained 1.74% to 12.25p.