OREANDA-NEWS.  Oxford BioMedica plc ("Oxford BioMedica" or "the Company") (LSE:OXB), a leading gene and cell therapy company, today announces that new data has been presented from two clinical studies indicating ground-breaking long-term four-year sustained and, in one of the studies, dose-dependent gene expression with the Company's LentiVector® delivery platform.

On 5 May 2016, Professor St?phane Palfi presented a poster on OXB-101, a gene therapy product for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), at the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) in Washington DC, USA. In the Phase I/II study 15 advanced PD patients were treated with OXB-101 in three dose cohorts. OXB-101 demonstrated a favourable safety profile and a statistically significant improvement in motor function relative to baseline at six and 12 months post-treatment. The most recent follow-up data, presented this week, shows that the majority of patients continue to experience improvement in motor function relative to baseline over the four years since treatment. The Company has since developed OXB-102, a more potent version of OXB-101, and is planning to start a Phase I/II study in mid-2016. OXB-102 is Oxford BioMedica's gene therapy product that utilises its proprietary LentiVector® delivery platform to transfer three genes for dopamine synthesis in the striatum.

In addition, on 4 May 2016, Dr Andreas Lauer gave an oral presentation on Oxford BioMedica's LentiVector®-based treatment for neovascular age-related related macular degeneration (wet AMD), at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) conference in Seattle, USA. Consistent with results previously announced at the ARVO conference, the new data presented demonstrates that LentiVector® gene expression was dose-dependent and continued without significant decline for more than four years. 

Commenting on the new emerging data, John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioMedica, said: "We are very encouraged by the demonstration of long term expression and clinical benefit in patients indicated by the four-year follow-up data from these two clinical studies. We believe this is the first time gene therapy products have been directly measured in the eye and the longevity in both expression and efficacy to date reinforces the benefits of the Company's pioneering LentiVector®gene delivery platform in the treatment of chronic conditions."

About Oxford BioMedica®

Oxford BioMedica (LSE:OXB) is a leading gene and cell therapy company 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®) through which the Group develops 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 and CNS disorders. The Group has also entered into a number of partnerships, including with Novartis, Sanofi, GSK, and Immune Design, 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 230 people.