OXFORD BIOMEDICA AND SANOFI-AVENTIS ENTER GLOBAL LICENSING AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP AND COMMERCIALISE TROVAX FOR CANCER

Oxford, UK – 28 March 2007: Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) and sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN; NYSE: SNY) announced today that they have entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement to develop and commercialise TroVax® for the treatment and prevention of cancers.

TroVax® is Oxford BioMedica’s lead cancer immunotherapy. It has been evaluated in clinical trials involving more than 180 patients with various forms of cancer. A Phase III trial in renal cancer is ongoing.

Under the terms of this agreement:

Sanofi-aventis will pay Oxford BioMedica up to €518 million (~US$690 million) if all development and registration targets are met for certain defined indications. Additional payments will be made if regulatory milestones are achieved in other cancer types.

Oxford BioMedica will receive an initial payment of €29 million (~US$39 million) and further near-term payments of €19 million (~US$25 million) as milestones linked to the ongoing Phase III TRIST study in renal cancer.

Oxford BioMedica is also entitled to escalating royalties on global sales of TroVax® and to further undisclosed commercial milestones when net sales of TroVax® reach certain levels.

Oxford BioMedica has an option to develop TroVax® for other cancer types in exchange for enhanced financial returns, and sanofi-aventis will keep all commercial rights.

Oxford BioMedica will supply TroVax® to sanofi-aventis on commercial terms.

Oxford BioMedica and sanofi-aventis will co-fund the ongoing Phase III TRIST study of TroVax® in renal cancer.

Sanofi-aventis will fund all future research, development, regulatory and commercialisation activities, including the immediate implementation of a development plan for TroVax® in metastatic colorectal cancer.
 
Sanofi-aventis will be responsible for the global commercialisation of TroVax® and will book the sales worldwide. Oxford BioMedica retains an option to participate in the promotion of TroVax® in the United States and the European Union.

TroVax® may be developed by sanofi-aventis as a treatment for any cancer type. Based on the broad distribution of the 5T4 tumour antigen, TroVax® has potential application in a wide range of solid tumours, including renal, colorectal, lung, breast and prostate cancer.

Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive of Oxford BioMedica, commented: “We are delighted to have sanofi-aventis as our partner for TroVax® given their broad expertise, experience and resources in oncology and their long standing world-class research and development capabilities in cancer immunology. We look forward to working with our new partner to advance the development and commercialisation of TroVax® and, importantly, to provide cancer patients with new treatment options.”

Analyst meeting:

An analyst briefing will be held at 11.45 am today at the offices of Buchanan Communications, 45 Moorfields, London EC2Y 9AE.

Web cast:

Simultaneously to the analyst briefing at 11.45 am, there will be a live audio web cast of the presentation. To connect to the web cast facility, please go to the Company’s website: http://www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk/  approximately 10 minutes (11.35 am) before the start of the briefing. This will also be available for replay shortly after the presentation.

-Ends-


For further information, please contact:

Oxford BioMedica plc:
Professor Alan Kingsman, Chief Executive
Tel: +44 (0)1865 783 000

Rothschild
Dr Lynn Drummond
Tel: +44 (0)20 7280 5000

City/Financial Enquiries:
Lisa Baderoon/ Mark Court/ Mary-Jane Johnson
Buchanan Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000

Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:
Gemma Price/ Holly Griffiths/ Katja Stout
Northbank Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 7268 3002

Notes to editors

1. Oxford BioMedica

Oxford BioMedica (LSE: OXB) is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development of novel gene-based therapeutics with a focus on oncology and neurotherapy. The Company was established in 1995 as a spin out from Oxford University, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Oxford BioMedica has core expertise in gene delivery, as well as in-house clinical, regulatory and manufacturing know-how. In oncology, the pipeline includes two clinical candidates and a preclinical targeted antibody therapy, which is being developed in collaboration with Wyeth. The Company has started Phase III development of its lead cancer immunotherapy product, TroVax, in renal cancer and has an ongoing Phase II programme in various cancer settings including renal, colorectal and prostate cancer. In neurotherapy, the Company’s lead product, ProSavin, is expected to enter clinical trials in Parkinson’s disease in 2007. The preclinical pipeline includes gene-based products for vision loss, motor neuron disease and nerve repair.

The Company is underpinned by over 80 patent families, which represent one of the broadest patent estates in the field. The Company has a staff of 72 split between its main facilities in Oxford and its wholly owned subsidiary, BioMedica Inc, in San Diego, California. Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with Wyeth, Intervet, Sigma-Aldrich, Viragen, MolMed and VIRxSYS; and has licensed technology to a number of companies including Merck & Co, Biogen Idec, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.

Further information is available at www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk

2. Sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis is one of the world leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, ranking number one in Europe. Backed by a world-class R&D organisation, sanofi-aventis is developing leading positions in seven major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, thrombosis, oncology, metabolic diseases, central nervous system, internal medicine and vaccines. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).

3. TroVax®

TroVax is Oxford BioMedica’s leading cancer immunotherapy product. It is designed specifically to stimulate an anti-cancer immune response and has potential application in most solid tumour types. TroVax targets the tumour antigen 5T4, which is broadly distributed throughout a wide range of solid tumours. The presence of 5T4 is correlated with poor prognosis. The product consists of a poxvirus (MVA) gene transfer system, which delivers the gene for 5T4 and stimulates a patient’s body to produce an anti-5T4 immune response. This immune response destroys tumour cells carrying the 5T4.

Over 180 patients have been treated with TroVax in clinical trials in renal, colorectal and prostate cancer. TroVax has been safe and well tolerated in all trials to date. There have been no serious adverse events related to the product. The clinical data show that over 95% of patients treated with TroVax mount an anti-tumour immune response to the 5T4 tumour antigen, and, in a number of clinical studies, there is a strong correlation between the level of the immune response elicited by TroVax and the clinical benefit to patients. In 2006, Oxford BioMedica started a Phase III trial of TroVax in renal cancer. The product has attracted support from Cancer Research UK, the US National Cancer Institute, and the UK clinical trials network, QUASAR. These organisations are conducting or plan to conduct clinical trials with TroVax.