Oxford Biomedica (LON:OXB) saw its shares edge higher today on news it has extended its partnership with pharmaceutical giant Novartis, signing a new contract for the commercial and clinical supply of its LentiVector gene delivery technology.
In late morning trading, the small cap shares were 0.3%, or 0.03p higher at 9.88p.
Under the contract, Oxford will supply its lentiviral vectors to generate the Swiss company’s CTL019 and other Chimeric Antigen Receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy products, used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Oxford said the contract with Novartis could generate more than US$100mln over the next three years, including an US$10mln upfront payment, various performance incentives and bioprocessing and development services.
The agreement between Oxford and Novartis builds on a deal collaboration in October 2014
Oxford Biomedica will also receive undisclosed royalties on potential future sales of Novartis's CAR-T products. The agreement between Oxford and Novartis builds on a deal collaboration in October 2014 for LentiVector.
John Dawson, chief executive of Oxford Biomedica, said: “The new deal with Novartis will strengthen the group's balance sheet immediately and will support the group's continued growth over the next three years.”
In March, Novartis said it received approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for its biologics license application filing and granted priority review for CTL019. Novartis expects the commercial launch of CTL019 later this year.
Analysts at Edison, which currently has its forecasts and valuation for Oxford Biomedica under review, in said in a note: “We await the outcome of CTL019’s FDA advisory committee meeting (12 July) to shed more light on its path to approval and likely commercial success.”
-- Adds share price, analyst comment --