Oxford gene therapy company secures over £50 million investment

Oxford Biomedica plc, (OXB) a leading gene and cell therapy group which has its headquarters in the city, has secured £53.5 million investment from Novo Holdings A/S, in return for new ordinary shares representing up to 10.1% of the outstanding shares after the capital increase.

The proceeds from the transaction will be used to repay the existing debt facility with Oaktree Capital Management in full and to further develop the company's LentiVector^® platform and its proprietary product portfolio. 

 OXB is at the centre of the rapidly emerging gene and cell therapy sector by which life-changing and curative treatment has become a therapeutic reality. Leveraging its LentiVector^® platform, OXB benefits from a dual strategy to support its partners in the development and commercialisation of their gene and cell therapy programmes while pursuing the development of a proprietary product portfolio for later out-licensing. This strategy has resulted in a number of partnerships, including with Novartis and Sanofi, as well as the out-licensing of OXB-102 (AXO-Lenti-PD) to Axovant Gene Therapies.

The investment from Novo Holdings will enable OXB to take advantage of its leading position and further exploit the growth opportunities in the sector. 

John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Biomedica, said: "We are delighted that Novo Holdings has become a shareholder in Oxford Biomedica. Novo Holdings is a well-known and highly regarded long-term investor with significant expertise in working with innovative, life sciences businesses to unlock their growth potential. This experience will be a great asset far beyond the financial commitment they have made to the Group and their collaboration and support will be highly valuable as we seek to scale up our operations both on the platform and on the proprietary product portfolio."

Robert Ghenchev, Director at Novo Holdings, added: "Oxford Biomedica is a global scientific and manufacturing leader within lentiviral vectors, one of the most established and well-validated technologies for delivering gene and cell therapies. This investment underscores Novo Holdings' commitment to supporting companies developing cutting-edge science that makes a real difference to patients and society. We are genuinely excited about this investment and look forward to working with Oxford Biomedica and supporting the Group going forward."