Business
OXB announces Innovate UK £2m collaboration
OXB announces Innovate UK £2m collaboration.
About this update from Oxford Biomedica Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 7160N Oxford Biomedica PLC 11 August 2017 \n\n \nOxford BioMedica announces a £2 million two-year collaboration co-funded by Innovate UK\n \n- The agreement is to explore a next generation gene and cell therapy manufacturing platform for clinical and commercial applications\n \nLondon, UK - 11 August 2017: Oxford BioMedica plc (\"Oxford BioMedica\" or \"the Group\") (LSE:OXB), a leading gene and cell therapy group, has announced it has agreed, as lead partner, to enter into a collaboration agreement with a consortium of partners, including the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Stratophase Ltd and Synthace Ltd. The agreement is a two-year £2 million collaboration project focused on gene and cell therapy manufacturing, co-funded by the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK. \nThe aim of the collaboration is to explore and apply novel advanced technologies to further evolve OXB's proprietary suspension LentiVector® platform to deliver even higher quality vectors for both clinical and commercial use. The project aims to deliver tangible benefits to patients by shortening the time-to-clinic and time-to-market as well as to improve the cost and access of bringing novel gene and cell therapies to patients. \nEach partner in the collaboration holds proprietary technology and know-how that can be used to develop an innovative approach to viral vector manufacturing. The aims of this pioneering project are closely aligned with the current government national priorities to make the UK a global hub for manufacturing advanced therapies, which will benefit economic growth and create and retain more highly skilled employment. \nJohn Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioMedica, the consortium lead, commented: \"Cell and gene therapies offer unprecedented promise for the cure, treatment or long term management of disease and we are delighted that this consortium has been awarded funding from Innovate UK that will help to keep Oxford BioMedica, our partners and the UK, at the forefront of innovation in industrial viral vector manufacturing. \nKeith Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, commented: \"Collaborating on developing improved process analytic technologies with our partners will help drive productivity in viral vector manufacturing, accelerati...