Oxford BioMedica and Sigma-Aldrich announced an agreement for Sigma-Aldrich to commercialise Oxford BioMedica's LentiVector technology for the reagent and research tool market
The announcement was made at the Cambridge Healthtech Institute's third annual 'Discovery on Target' conference, being held in Boston from 18-21 October 2005, where both companies sponsored sessions and presented data.
This strategic alliance identifies Sigma-Aldrich as Oxford BioMedica's exclusive global partner in the development and marketing of research products based on the LentiVector technology.
Sigma-Aldrich plans to develop a range of high value LentiVector research products for its extensive customer base in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic sectors.
Under the agreement, which gives Sigma-Aldrich the exclusive right to sublicense the technology for research purposes, Oxford BioMedica will receive an upfront payment, annual minimum payments and royalties on sales.
In addition Sigma-Aldrich has first rights to negotiate for a license to develop a new range of products based on Oxford BioMedica's EIAV-based LentiVector technology.
Furthermore, Sigma-Aldrich has committed to an equity investment of $5 million in Oxford BioMedica, to be completed before 31 January, 2006.
Other financial terms were not disclosed.
Oxford BioMedica's lentivirus-based gene delivery technology, known as LentiVector, is one of the most powerful technologies for the delivery of genes to a wide range of cell and tissue types.
The LentiVector technology has applications both in therapeutic products and as a drug discovery tool for target validation and the creation of targeted disease models.
Oxford BioMedica has a comprehensive portfolio of US and European patents that cover the technology.
Existing licensees and partners for the LentiVector technology include Biogen Idec, Merck, Pfizer, and Viragen.
Commenting on the announcement, Peter Nolan, senior vice president of Oxford BioMedica said: "We are delighted to work with Sigma-Aldrich as our chosen partner for commercialisation of the LentiVector technology in the research reagent market.
"Through its broad scientific customer base and membership of the internationally renowned RNAi Consortium, Sigma is a clear leader in this area.
"This partnership will allow Oxford BioMedica to derive maximum benefit from research applications of the technology, while keeping the primary business development focus on the commercialisation of our therapeutic product pipeline".
Shaf Yousaf, president of the Sigma-Aldrich Research Biotechnology business unit stated: "Over the course of the last 12 months Sigma has made a number of strategic moves, including formation of a research collaboration with the RNAi Consortium (TRC), acquisition of Proligo, and the licensing of key intellectual property from MIT and Alnylam, designed to enable us to become a dominant player in the area of RNA Interference.
"The addition of the Oxford BioMedica patents to the Sigma RNAi intellectual property portfolio further solidifies our position in this important field of research.
"Additionally, the equity stake in Oxford BioMedica ensures our ability to capitalise on their extensive knowledge in this area and clears the way for a collaborative effort that we expect to result in even more innovative tools for the biopharmaceutical industry."
